It’s Michigan State basketball against Auburn in the Elite Eight of 2025 March Madness. A Final Four berth in San Antonio is up for grabs.
Two grizzled, veteran coaches Tom Izzo and Bruce Pearl collide.
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The game tips off at 5:05 p.m. on CBS.
Here’s how five Free Press experts see the game going Saturday in Atlanta:
Chris Solari
Don’t be fooled by the offensive capabilities of these two teams. Both Tom Izzo and Bruce Pearl know the key will be defending each other at an elite level. For the Spartans, that means alternating their big men on Johni Broome and their guards on Tahaad Pettiford to keep them confused and forcing the rest of the Tigers’ eight-man rotation to play above their averages. Auburn can get sloppy, but MSU also must continue to play through mistakes and keep it close into the second half, where Izzo’s adjustments and his players’ sheer will to win send the Spartans back to his ninth Final Four and first since 2019. The pick: MSU 68, Auburn 66.
Carlos Monarrez
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said something after Friday’s win over Michigan that stuck with me: “If Michigan can turn us over 15 times, Michigan State can turn us over 25 times.” It was Pearl’s early warning call for his players, and he’s right to be worried about the Spartans’ defense and overall fundamentally superior play that’s led by a Hall of Fame coach who knows how to make up for deficiencies against a supposedly superior team. The pick: MSU 76, Auburn 74.
Tony Garcia
It’s essentially an Auburn home game here in Atlanta, where the Tigers have at least 80% of the fans in attendance. They also have an All-American in Johni Broome and two incredibly tough shotmakers in Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford who have national championship caliber skill and swagger. But Bruce Pearl’s squad was often disjointed against U-M, starting 3-for-20 on 3s and turning the ball over 15 times. If MSU fares better on the glass, then one has to imagine this will be a tight game in the final four minutes. At this point, MSU has trailed at the half in 12 of its past 16 games, yet gone 12-4. Pearl’s club has more natural talent but Izzo is 8-2 in the Elite Eight on the quick turnaround. Izzo caps his best masterpiece yet, in the program’s biggest win since topping Duke to make its last Final Four in 2019. The pick: MSU 72, Auburn 68.
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NATTY PICK: Our experts have predictions for winner of Final Four
Shawn Windsor
It’s tempting to take the Spartans here, and I might if I hadn’t predicted this game before the tournament started, that these teams would meet, that Auburn would beat Michigan and MSU would hold off Ole Miss. I’d like to change my pick, but that seems unsporting.
The Tigers are beatable, no question. They lost three of four heading into the NCAA tournament, and they played a rough 30 minutes against U-M on Friday night. It wasn’t just missing shots and turning it over, it was taking bad shots and turning it over in unforced ways. They were discombobulated. Then they got it together and looked like the best team in the country. The Spartans will make it tougher on the perimeter for Auburn than the Wolverines did — their guards are better defenders. But Johni Broome is a tough matchup and in the end Auburn makes a couple more plays. The pick: Auburn 76, MSU 71.
Jeff Seidel
OK, I gotta admit I have wavered. Throughout this tournament, I have consistently said that MSU would beat Auburn — in part because Auburn struggled down the stretch of the regular season, going 1-3. But this tournament has reminded me that Auburn was the best team in America for a long stretch this season. And that realization made me waver. But alas, I’ll stick with my guns. Or stick with the Spartans. I’ll stick with Tom Izzo, who will dig deep into his ability (not to mention experience) to do a quick prep and bring down Auburn. The pick: MSU 75, Auburn 71.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State vs Auburn prediction, picks in March Madness Elite 8
