ATLANTA — Michigan State will make its 22nd Sweet 16 appearance on Friday night.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, will be making just its second.

The programs squaring off at State Farm Arena certainly have different histories but their DNA is pretty similar.

“I do think it is one of the more connected teams, but I wouldn't say elite talent,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said Thursday on the eve of Friday’s 6:07 p.m. CDT matchup between his Spartans (29-6) and Ole Miss (24-11) in the South Regional semifinal. “I mean, I've had some teams with pretty good talent. But this team is connected. I think we did things to help it. We went to Spain. We went to the UP, where I'm from, and taught them how to eat pasties for pregame meal. We did some different things.

“Then we started playing a lot of players. So everybody had some ownership in the team, and different guys would rear their heads and maybe score. We had seven, eight, different leading scorers. This team appreciated that. And most teams are so selfish they don't appreciate that.”

Chris Beard’s second Ole Miss team was built on balance. He kept three key players from last season — Jaemyn Brakefield, Matthew Murrell and Jaylen Murray — and then added talent from the transfer portal. Like Michigan State, the Rebels are built on unselfishness.

“I think, when you study our team and why we've been successful, why we're here on this stage in the Sweet 16, our roster management, I think we did a good job,” Beard said. "In today's changing game of college basketball, we all know that our teams are going to change drastically from year to year. I've always thought the first brick, as you lay the team, the first building block has got to be returners.

“For us, what was really important is that we returned the right guys, the guys that we thought could take the next step as individual players, the guys that we think we can build this thing around. So for us to have Matt and Brake and Juju back as well as Rob (Cowherd) and Mugs (Cam Brent), who play a big role behind the scenes, that's what's important.”

Michigan State beat Bryant and New Mexico to get to Friday. The Spartans’ scoring has come from their depth, as they are led by Jaden Akins with an average of 12.7 points per game. However, they have seven players who average 7 points per game or more and they rank fifth nationally in bench points per game with 34.5. Jaxon Kohler averages 7.5 rebounds per game and has posted seven double-doubles. Their offense runs through guards Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tre Holloman, who average 5.4 and 3.8 assists per game, respectively, to help the team rank 22nd in the country with 16.7 helpers per contest.

The Spartans also rank highly as a team in 3-point percentage defense (1st, 27.8), rebound margin (plus-9.4, 2nd), fast-break points per game (3rd, 16.1), and defensive rebounds per game (9th, 28).

Recently, they’ve been bolstered by freshman Jase Richardson, who is averaging 11.9 points per game. The son of former Michigan State and NBA star Jason Richardson has played more than 30 minutes per game in the Spartans’ last five outings.

“He's got an unbelievable demeanor to him, and he has gotten better in a lot of different areas,” Izzo said. “But he's also been damn good when he came.

“I think the way he was raised, the moments aren't too big.

I never -- after the Kansas game here -- that was only the second game of the season. We lost, but I started realizing then this kid -- like some kids are so cocky that they don't get moved by the moment; he’s not cocky — is just confident in what he can do.

I've been amazed. I haven't had many kids like him in that respect, to be honest with you.”

Obviously, the Spartans have Ole Miss’ undivided attention.

“Just like every year in a Sweet 16-type game, our thing is we think we're going to have to play our best 40 minutes of the season to this point to be successful in this game,” Beard said. “It’s not a last-minute panic game plan. We've been telling the guys that all year long. It's really important that we play better in December than we did in November. It's really important that we're playing our best basketball in March.

“Certainly we've even mentioned this, when you get to the second week of the tournament, you've really got to try to play your best 40 minutes of the season. So that's our objective tomorrow night.

“I think they're playing their best basketball of the season right now. To me they're one possession away from being a 1-seed. They're the Big Ten champs for a reason.

“They're just a really good team, and they're playing really well. I think strength in numbers might be something they're saying on their end this year. It's something we've used before, that terminology. We believe that we're strength in numbers at Ole Miss as well. I don't know who our leading scorer is, but I know we've had five or six guys average double figures all year long. It's one of the reasons we're here today.

“I think the same is true for Michigan State. We've described their team to our players in a way that they have a nine-man rotation, and all nine are very capable of being the leading scorer, the leading assist guy, the leading rebounder, the best player on the floor in this game. So I think that's a compliment, how they've set their team up.

“Obviously that means they don't have an ego problem in their locker room. I think they play for each other. So many clips we've showed our team this week in preparation aren't the Xs and Os of the games. It's the clips in between the games -- it's the 50-50 balls, it's the bench energy, it's the helping the teammate up off the floor.

“We know what we're getting into. We came here to compete in this game and have a chance to win this game, but we know exactly what we're getting into. We're playing one of the best teams in the country, one of the most connected teams in the country with a Hall of Fame coach, and we'll have to play our best 40 minutes of the season to this point to have a chance to be successful tomorrow night.”

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