No. 2 Seed Michigan State Meets No. 15 Seed Bryant in NCAA Tournament First Round on Friday Night

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Michigan State, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, opens the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 21 (10 p.m.), playing No. 15 seed Bryant University at Rocket Arena.

Michigan State is making its 27th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament under Coach Tom Izzo, extending the longest NCAA Tournament streak in Big Ten history ... In being selected, Izzo also extended his record by coaching his team to 27 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Michigan State's streak of 27-straight NCAA Tournaments is not only a Big Ten record, it's also the third-longest in NCAA history and is officially recognized by the NCAA as the longest active streak ... This is the 38th NCAA Tournament appearance all-time for MSU.

The game will air live on TBS, with Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel and Jon Rothstein calling all of the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst, and Zach Surdenik is the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 202 or 209 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app. The game can also be heard on Westwood One Radio, with Scott Graham and Jon Crispin calling the game.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters Friday's game with a 27-6 overall record (17-3 B1G) and are No. 8 in the Associated Press and No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches polls.
The Spartans are ranked No. 11 in the NCAA Net Rankings, No. 8 per KenPom.com and No. 11 in the ESPN BPI.
The Spartans have 13 Quad 1 wins, the third-most nationally ... MSU has more wins over ranked teams (8) than any team in the Big Ten and is 6th nationally in ranked wins ... The Spartans have won eight-straight games, all against Quad 1 teams.
The Spartans won at Iowa on March 6 (91-84) to clinch the Big Ten regular season title outright (the 11th under MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo tied for the most in Big Ten history) and advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten for a record 17 times.
Michigan State beat Illinois, 79-65, on Feb. 15 on the road, a win that gave Izzo his 354th Big Ten Conference win, moving him past former Indiana coach Bob Knight for the all-time Big Ten lead.
Michigan State has won 22 of its last 26 games.
Senior guard Jaden Akins leads the Spartans in scoring with 12.7 points per game and Michigan State is the only team in the country to have just two players averaging double-digit points while playing under 26.8 minutes per game (Jase Richardson, 12.0 ppg).
MSU is also just one of four teams in the AP Top 25 with at least 7 players averaging at least 7.0 ppg (Alabama, Arizona, BYU).
MSU has seven players averaging at least 7.0 ppg and 10 scoring at least 4.5 ppg.
MSU has relied on its depth, with six players averaging at least 20.0 minutes per game and 10 players at least 10.0 minutes.
The Spartans are the only team in the country with 10 players averaging at least 13.0 minutes per game.
Akins leads the team with 12.7 ppg and is fourth with 3.6 rpg, while Richardson is averaging 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists, junior guard Tre Holloman is third on the team, averaging 9.0 ppg and 3.8 assists (13th B1G), junior forward Jaxon Kohler, who has seven double-doubles this year, is scoring 8.0 ppg and leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game, 7th in the Big Ten.
Sophomore forward Coen Carr is averaging 7.7 ppg and 3.4 rpg, redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is averaging 7.4 points and a team-leading 5.5 assists per game, which ranks 3rd in the Big Ten, and senior forward Frankie Fidler adds 7.0 ppg and 3.3 rpg.
MSU is averaging 22.4 FT attempts per game (No. 33 in the country) and the Spartans rank No. 19 in the country in free throw percentage (78.1%) and No. 13 in free throws made per game (17.5).
The Spartans are No. 4 in the country in fast break points per game (16.15 ppg) and No. 7 in bench points (34.06 ppg).
MSU also ranks No. 5 in the country in rebound margin (+9.1), No. 11 in defensive rebounds per game (28.00/g) and No. 13 in rebounds per game (39.82).

MSU In Opening Games

In its 37 NCAA Tournaments, Michigan State has a record of 29-8 in its first game of the tournament.
Since the field expanded in 1985, the Spartans are 25-8 in opening games, including 25-7 in the round of 64 ... Tom Izzo is 20-5 in the round of 64.

Series History

This will mark the first-ever meeting between Michigan State and Bryant.

About the Bulldogs

This is Bryant's second NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level in school history; its first appearance was in 2022 after winning the Northeast Conference.
The Bulldogs fell to Wright State in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, as a No. 16 seed, 93-82.
Bryant's 23 wins are a DI program single-season school record (joined Division I in 2008).
The Bulldogs rank 17th nationally in scoring offense (82.4), fourth in rebounds per game (41.47), third in blocks (6.0) and 18th in offensive rebounds per game (13.41).
Fifth-year senior guard Earl Timberlake was named the America East Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player at the America East Tournament; he also was named to the All-Defensive Team … He leads the conference in assists (4.7 apg) and made free throws (105) while ranking second in the league in rebounding (8.2 pg), third in blocks (1.8 bpg), seventh in field-goal percentage (.503) and ninth in scoring (15.5 pg) ... The Washington, D.C., native enters the NCAA Tournament as the only player in the nation averaging more than 15 points, eight rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game ... Timberlake, who spent his freshman season at Miami (Fla.) and his sophomore year at Memphis, earned second-team all-league honors in his first year at Bryant as a junior in 2022-23 and garnered first-team accolades last season.
Junior Barry Evans, a transfer from St. Bonaventure, was named the America East Newcomer of the Year after averaging 13.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Rafael Pinzon, a first-team America East selection, leads the team and ranks second in the conference in scoring with 18.5 points per game ... He also ranks second in the league with 82 3-pointers and is shooting at a .385 clip from long range, fourth best in the conference ... Pinzon played his first two seasons at St. John's before joining the Bulldogs in 2023-24.
Sixth-year senior forward Connor Withers also averages double figures with 11.3 points per game ... He transferred to Bryant in 2023-24 after playing his first four seasons at UMass Lowell.
Bryant ranks third in the nation with 6.0 blocks per game and set a single-game program record with 15 blocks against Albany on Feb. 6, the most blocks by any Division I team in a game this season.

No. 2 Seed Michigan State Meets No. 15 Seed Bryant in NCAA Tournament First Round on Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

No. 2 Seed Michigan State Meets No. 15 Seed Bryant in NCAA Tournament First Round on Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

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