Michigan State Meets New Mexico on Sunday Night in NCAA Tournament Second Round

CLEVELAND, Ohio – No. 2 seed Michigan State plays No. 10 seed New Mexico on Sunday, March 23 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. MSU advanced to the second round with an 87-62 win over Bryant on Friday night as sophomore forward Coen Carr scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead five players in double figures for the Spartans.

The game will air live on TNT, 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 has won 9 of its last 10 and 23 of the last 27 games overall and enters the game on Sunday with a 28-6 overall record (17-3 B1G).
The Spartans advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an 87-62 win over Bryant in the first round on Friday.
MSU, No. 8 in the Associated Press and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches polls, is ranked No. 11 in the NCAA Net Rankings, No. 8 per KenPom.com and No. 11 in the ESPN BPI.
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).
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.
This is the 11th time in the last 13 tournaments MSU has reached the second round and the 15th in the last 18.
Since 1998, the Spartans are 15-5 in their second NCAA Tournament game.
Michigan State is making its 27th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament under Head Coach Tom Izzo, extending the longest NCAA Tournament streak in Big Ten history.
MSU'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.
The Spartans have emphasized "Strength in Numbers" this year, with 10 players playing at least 10 minutes per game, 9 different players leading the team in scoring and are one of 4 teams in the AP Top 25 with 7 players scoring at least 6.9 ppg.
Michigan State is 25-1 when scoring 70 or more points and 19-1 when holding opponents below 70 ... MSU scored 46 points off the bench vs. Bryant, the 10th time this year with at least 40 points.
Senior guard Jaden Akins leads the Spartans in scoring with 12.6 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, 12.1 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 6.9 ppg and 10 scoring at least 4.3 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 one of just two teams in the country with 10 players averaging at least 12.8 minutes per game.
Akins leads the team with 12.6 ppg and is fourth with 3.6 rpg, while Richardson is averaging 12.1 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 7.9 ppg and leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game (7th B1G).
Carr is averaging 8.0 ppg and 3.4 rpg, redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is averaging 7.5 points and a team-leading 5.5 assists per game (3rd B1G) and senior forward Frankie Fidler adds 6.9 ppg and 3.4 rpg.
MSU is averaging 22.4 FT attempts per game (No. 32 in the country) and the Spartans rank No. 18 in the country in free throw percentage (77.9%) and No. 13 in free throws made per game (17.4).
The Spartans are No. 4 in the country in fast break points per game (16.12 ppg) and No. 5 in bench points (34.41 ppg).
MSU also ranks No. 2 in the country in rebound margin (+9.5), No. 8 in defensive rebounds per game (28.15/g) and No. 10 in rebounds per game (40.24).

MSU In the Round of 32

Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Michigan State has advanced to the round of 32 on 26 occasions ... MSU has a 17-8 record in round of 32 games since 1985, including 15-5 under Tom Izzo.

Series History

New Mexico and Michigan State have a brief history with the Spartans holding a 2-0 all-time record.
Both previous meetings came on the road ... MSU defeated the Lobos, 76-61, on Dec. 28, 1985 at the Lobo Classic.
The Spartans took first place defeating New Mexico and Massachusetts.
Michigan State defeated New Mexico 73-69 on Dec. 18, 1970 at the Lobo Invitational where they also defeated Rutgers to take first place.

About New Mexico

No. 10-seeded New Mexico (27-7) made its second consecutive, and 17th overall NCAA tournament overall appearance (1968, '74, '78, '91, '93, '94, '96, '97, '98, '99, '05, '10, '12, '13, '14, '24, '25), on Friday with a 75-66 win over Marquette.
The Lobos won their third outright Mountain West title (2009-10, 2012-13, 2024-25) and fifth Mountain West title overall finishing 17-3 in league play.
New Mexico amassed a school record with 17 conference wins and won 20 or more games for the third time under Richard Pitino in his fourth season at the helm.
The Lobos reached the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Michigan State Meets New Mexico on Sunday Night in NCAA Tournament Second Round

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

Michigan State Meets New Mexico on Sunday Night in NCAA Tournament Second Round

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

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