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Bridges' dominance shows March could be Michigan State's month

Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport / Getty

A couple of weeks after Michigan State fell to Kansas in the second round of the 2017 NCAA tournament, star forward Miles Bridges announced he would return for his sophomore season instead of entering the NBA draft.

"I got some unfinished business here," Bridges said. "I want to stay."

The move instantly made Michigan State one of the 2018 championship favorites, and Bridges showed why on Friday by dropping 29 points in the Spartans' first-round win over Bucknell.

Entering play in front of a friendly crowd in Detroit as the 3-seed, the Spartans were favored to roll over Bucknell, and it didn't take long for Bridges to demonstrate why the NBA is intently following his progress.

His scoring gets most of the love, but Bridges showed he's also a threat in the passing game in the opening half with a perfect feed in the pick-and-roll.

Despite being the heavy underdog, Bucknell kept things close throughout the opening 25 minutes before Bridges truly asserted his dominance and shifted the momentum.

It was 52-46 when the 6-foot-7 standout took over, pouring in 14 of his 29 points to stretch the lead to 70-54. The play that will be on repeat on "SportsCenter" throughout the night is a vicious stickback dunk that brought the partisan crowd to its feet.

Bridges connected on 12 of 22 shots from the field, adding four assists and nine rebounds to push the Spartans past the pesky Bison. He also showed some nice touch from distance, drilling three triples - his third straight game with at least three makes from beyond the arc.

Almost every draft publication projects Bridges will be a lottery pick in the upcoming draft, but the Flint native has some business to take care of before leaving the college ranks. If he keeps playing like he did Friday, don't be shocked if that career keeps rolling through to the Final Four in San Antonio.

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