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NCAA Bracket 2012: Long Island To Play Michigan State In First Round

By Jared Smith

After landing a No. 16 seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the Long Island Blackbirds will be playing No. 1-seeded Michigan St. Spartans in their first game on Friday in Columbus. The Blackbirds received the automatic berth as they earned the Northeast Conference Tournament crown after finishing the regular season for the second straight year.

The Blackbirds finished their season 25-8 overall, as they were led by Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere who both averaged more than 15.0 points per game. Boyd also collected 9.5 rebounds per game, while Olasewere added 7.5.

Meanwhile, the Spartans earned the West region's No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season with a 27-7 overall record and collecting the Big Ten Conference Tournament crown on Sunday. This marks the fifth time in program history that the Spartans earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Statistically, Draymond Green is pacing the Spartans with 16.2 points per game, while Keith Appling is the only other Spartan averaging in double figures with 11.5 ppg.

Here's their roster and stats:

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Draymond Green 33 32.9 5.7 12.5 45.3 1.4 3.5 38.8 3.5 4.9 71.8 2.2 8.2 10.4 3.6 3.1 1.5 1.0 2.8 16.2
Keith Appling 33 30.5 3.5 8.1 43.3 0.7 2.6 25.6 3.8 4.8 80.4 0.4 2.5 2.9 3.9 2.4 1.2 0.4 2.5 11.5
Branden Dawson 31 20.6 3.5 6.1 57.7 0.0 0.1 0.0 1.3 2.2 59.4 2.2 2.3 4.5 0.9 1.4 0.9 0.8 1.3 8.4
Brandon Wood 33 26.3 3.2 6.9 45.9 1.2 3.3 36.4 0.7 1.1 63.9 0.9 2.0 2.9 1.9 1.0 0.6 0.2 1.5 8.3
Derrick Nix 33 19.0 3.4 6.1 55.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.0 56.9 1.5 2.2 3.7 1.0 1.3 0.8 0.3 1.7 7.8
Adreian Payne 33 17.5 2.5 4.5 56.4 0.0 0.1 50.0 1.8 2.6 69.0 1.5 2.5 4.1 0.3 1.1 0.7 1.0 2.4 6.9
Austin Thornton 33 21.0 1.5 3.1 46.6 0.8 1.8 46.6 1.5 1.6 90.7 0.9 2.5 3.4 1.1 0.7 0.7 0.2 1.8 5.2
Travis Trice 28 17.5 1.6 4.2 39.0 1.0 2.5 42.0 0.6 1.1 54.8 0.1 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.3 0.8 0.1 1.9 4.9
Alex Gauna 28 5.0 0.8 1.3 56.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.8 50.0 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.9 1.9
Russell Byrd 24 5.9 0.5 1.7 29.3 0.4 1.3 29.0 0.3 0.4 80.0 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.7 1.7
Brandan Kearney 30 9.2 0.4 1.0 41.9 0.2 0.4 41.7 0.1 0.2 28.6 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.7 1.1
Keenan Wetzel 10 1.1 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.4
Joe Sweeny 9 1.1 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.2 100.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2
Colby Wollenman 9 1.1 0.1 0.2 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2
Anthony Ianni 19 1.7 0.1 0.2 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 50.0 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2
Dan Chapman 14 1.1 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0

For more on Long Island basketball, check out the SB Nation's team page, while The Only Colors is all about the Spartans. For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament, visit SB Nation New York's StoryStream. Click here for a link to our NCAA bracket 2012.

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