Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans are headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the 28th consecutive season.
On Sunday, March 15, the Spartans (25-7) were tabbed as the No. 3 seed in the East region. The team opens the first round against 14-seed North Dakota State (27-7) on Thursday, March 19 (4:05 p.m., TNT), at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Michigan State is looking to win its first title since the 2000, and the third in program history.
Walking into the unknown
This is the first matchup between Michigan State and North Dakota State. During a press conference on Sunday, Izzo admitted he doesn’t know too much about the Bison.
“I don’t know a lot about North Dakota State yet,” Izzo said. “I know they were 27-7 and won both the regular-season and the conference tournament. I don’t know the head coach, Dave Richman, but he’s had 11 seasons there and this is his fourth NCAA tournament appearance at different schools, so he has some experience.”
The Spartans are a 16.5-point favorite in their opening matchup with the Bisons, according to BetMGM. But Izzo is no stranger to being upset during March Madness.
In 2016, Michigan State was the 2-seed in the Midwest region before suffering a 90-81 loss to 15-seed Middle Tennessee State in the opening round. It’s something he still thinks about 10 seasons later.
“Our focus better be on one thing and that’s North Dakota State,” Izzo said after the team’s 88-84 loss to UCLA on Saturday, March 13. “As we all know, we’ve been part of a 15/2 game, so I have apprehension. “
How far can Sparty go?
Some of the national media coverage has Michigan State advancing as far as the Elite Eight, including the cast of ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
Rece Davis and Seth Greenberg were the only two members of the show picking the Spartans to advance to the Final Four. Greenberg went even further out on a limb, picking a Michigan-Michigan State national championship game. It would be the third time this season the two in-state rivals would face off.
The Spartans and Wolverines have never met in March Madness, though they came close last year; both advanced to the second weekend in the South region before losing to Auburn in Atlanta – the Wolverines in the Sweet 16, and the Spartans in the Elite Eight, with a berth in the Final Four on the line.
Free Press reporters Jeff Seidel, Chris Solari and Christian Romo contributed to this story.
Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X and Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball March Madness expert predictions, picks