WASHINGTON, D.C. – There’s a reason why the NCAA tournament selection committee seeded LSU No. 3 and Michigan State No. 2 in the East Region.

The Tigers and the Spartans, who meet here Friday at 6:10 p.m. CST in a Sweet 16 semifinal in Capital One Arena, mirror each other.

LSU, 28-6, was the regular season champion in the Southeastern Conference.

“We felt like we had a chance (at the start of the season) to have a good team,” LSU interim coach Tony Benford said. “We’ve got good character guys. They trust one another. They love one another. They respect one another. I think that helps.”

Michigan State, 30-6, was the regular season co-champion in the Big Ten.

“The grit of this team, the physical power isn't quite as good as some teams I have had,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose squad also won the Big Ten tournament. “But the mental power might be better than a lot of teams I've had. They've been able to redevelop their team and analyze.”

The Tigers have overcome adversity, with teammate Wayde Sims shot to death just before the start of preseason practice. Also, LSU head coach Will Wade is now in his third week of being indefinitely suspended by school administrators for his refusal to meet and discuss his alleged involvement in a federally investigated college basketball recruiting scandal.

“I'll never get past what happened to Wayde, I'm pretty sure I could say the same for all these guys,” LSU guard Skyler Mays said. “With Coach Wade, we'll have to just move forward because that's something that none of us can control. At the end of the day, the ball isn't going to stop bouncing for us whether he's on the sideline or not. We've used it to come together. And we're here.”

The Spartans have persisted through a string of severe injuries. They lost starting guard Joshua Langford to a foot injury in late December. Guard/forward Kyle Ahrens played for two months with a back injury before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in the Big Ten tournament championship game. Forward Nick Ward missed five games with a broken hand.

“We have the mentality of playing for each other all year and definitely can feel that when we’re on the court together, just having each other’s backs out there,” Michigan State guard Matt McQuaid said. “Whenever somebody went down, it hasn’t been the next man up. It has just been a group effort of guys contributing. That is what has made it so special.”

LSU’s undisputed offensive spark is All-SEC first-team choice Tremont Waters, a 5-10 point guard who leads the Tigers in scoring (15 points per game), assists (5.9) and steals (3.0).

“It makes me play a lot more relaxed knowing my teammates have confidence in me and my coaching staff has a ton of confidence in me,” Waters said. “I'm able to play off instinct, make reads and pretty much run the show.”

Michigan’s head-of-the snake is Big Ten Player of the Year Cassius Winston, a 6-1 point guard who tops the Spartans in scoring (18.9 ppg), assists (7.5) and steals (1.0).

“I play within myself,” Winston said. “I know what I'm good at. I know my spots. And I don't try to play outside of my strengths.”

The Tigers are relentless rebounders, leading the SEC in that category (38.9 rpg) and in offensive rebounds (13.4) which is also 10th nationally.

“We can do some things their big guys can’t do and their big guys can do some things we can’t do,” LSU forward Naz Reid said.

The Spartans, who have led the nation in rebound margin nine times under Izzo, are eighth nationally in rebounds (40.9) and first in the Big Ten (eighth nationally) in rebound margin (plus 9.5).

“I expect a physical game, like a track game almost,” Michigan State forward Aaron Henry. “Two aggressive teams like we are, we are ready to run in transition and just competing on the board. Let the better team win.”

LSU is a team that refuses to lose, 12-4 in games decided by five points or fewer including 5-2 in overtime.

“I love watching them if I didn't have to play them,” Izzo said of the Tigers. “One thing I love about LSU is they play really hard. They are probably the most athletic, with size, team we've faced. They go the boards with vengeance. . .and that’s near and dear to my heart.”

Michigan State has won 12 of its last 13 games and is 10-1 against top 25 ranked opponents.

“They're one of the best teams in the country in transition,” Benford noted of the Spartans. “We're good in transition, we've got big guys who can score inside. It's going to be a game of wills.”