No. 3 Seed Michigan State Opens NCAA Tournament Play on Thursday Afternoon Against No. 14 Seed North Dakota State

Thursday, March 19

Buffalo, N.Y.

4:05 P.M.

Michigan State University

(14) North Dakota State

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

No. 3 Seed Michigan State Opens NCAA Tournament Play on Thursday Afternoon Against No. 14 Seed North Dakota State

3/18/2026 11:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball

2026 MSU MBB Tournament Guide NDSU MBB Game Notes 3 15 26

BUFFALO, N.Y. – No. 3 seed Michigan State, making its 28th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament under Head Coach Tom Izzo, plays No. 14 seed North Dakota on Thursday, March 19 (4:05 p.m., TNT) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (East Region) at Key Bank Center.

The winner of Thursday's game will advance to play the winner of a game between No. 6 seed Louisville and No. 11 seed South Florida on Saturday, March 21.

Michigan State's 28-straight NCAA Tournament streak extends the longest streak in Big Ten history and Izzo also extended his NCAA record by coaching his team to 28 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Michigan State's streak of 28 straight NCAA Tournaments is not only a Big Ten record, it's also tied for the longest in NCAA history (Kansas, 28, 1990-2017) and is officially recognized by the NCAA as the nation's longest current streak … This is the 39th NCAA Tournament appearance all-time for MSU.

Friday afternoon's game will air live on TNT, with Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson and Allie LaForce 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, Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst and Zach Surdenik as the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 203 or 210 on SiriusXM or on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters Thursday's NCAA Tournament with a 25-7 overall record (15-5 in the Big Ten Conference).
The Spartans are No. 11 in the latest Associated Press and ESPN Coaches polls (March 16) ... MSU is No. 11 in the NCAA Net Rankings and No. 9 per KenPom and are one of eight schools w/at least 10 Quad 1 wins.
MSU is No. 6 in the country in assists (18.5 apg), with Jeremy Fears Jr. No. 1 nationally with 9.2 apg.
MSU ranks No. 3 in the country in rebound margin (+11.6) and Jaxon Kohler is No. 33 nationally with 9.0 rpg.
The Spartans are No. 41 nationally in scoring defense (68.4 ppg) and rank No. 13 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.
MSU ranks No. 11 nationally, and lead the B1G, in fast break points (16.1 ppg).
MSU's captains (Carson Cooper, Kohler, Coen Carr, Fears Jr.) have combined for 64.1% of the team's scoring (1,620 of 2,525 points) and average 50.6 ppg, 23.8 rpg and 13.1 assists.
Through 32 games, MSU has four players scoring in double figures and eight averaging at least 5.0 ppg.
Jeremy Fears Jr., who leads the team with 32.2 minutes played, leads the team with 15.7 ppg and is handing out 9.2 assists per game, tops in the nation ... His 294 total assists rank No. 2 in the country ... When he handed out 13 in the Big Ten Tournament vs. UCLA, he moved past Cassius Winston (291, 2018-19) for the single-season record at Michigan State … His 8.8 apg in B1G games tied the season record of 8.8 set by Purdue's Braden Smith last year.
Jaxon Kohler is second on the team in scoring with 12.7 ppg and tops the team with 9.0 rpg (3rd B1G, #33 nationally) ... Kohler ranks No. 28 nationally with 12 double-doubles this season & has scored in double figures 23 times ... His 9.0 rebounds are the most since Xavier Tillman Sr. had 10.3 in 2019-20.
Coen Carr, one of the most athletic players in all of college basketball, is third on the team with 11.6 ppg, third on the team with 5.4 rpg and 1.3 apg in 29.0 mpg.
Carson Cooper, who had 16 points and a career-best 16 rebounds vs. Duke and scored a career-high 20 points against Ohio State, is playing a career-high 26.4 mpg, is fourth on the team with 10.8 ppg and second with 7.1 rpg, 10th in the B1G ... He has scored in double figures 19 times.
Jordan Scott is averaging 5.9 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 20.7 mpg (with 7.4 ppg and 2.9 rpg in 22.9 mpg in B1G play) and Cam Ward is averaging 5.9 ppg and is fourth on the team with 4.3 rpg.
Kur Teng, who scored a career-high 18 points at Indiana, is averaging 7.7 ppg and 2.1 rpg, while senior guard Trey Fort is tallying 3.8 ppg, redshirt freshman Jesse McCulloch is averaging 2.4 ppg and 1.3 rpg and senior guard Denham Wojcik averages 1.2 assists in 5.6 minutes ... Divine Ugochukwu, out for the season with a left foot injury, averaged 5.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 1.6 apg in 16.9 mpg in 22 games.

MSU'S NCAA Streak

Michigan State is making its 28th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2026 ... It is the longest streak ever among Big Ten schools and officially recognized by the NCAA as the nation's longest current streak ... Michigan State's streak of 28 straight NCAA Tournaments is not only a Big Ten record, it's also tied for the longest in NCAA history (Kansas, 28, 1990-2017) ... (According to the NCAA, Kansas has an "on-court" streak of 36 from 1990 to present, but its 2018 appearance was later vacated by the IARP.)

MSU's NCAA Tournament History

Michigan State is making its 39th appearance in the NCAA Tournament with a record of 76-37 (.673) in its previous 38 tournaments.
MSU has made 10 trips to the Final Four (1957, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019) and captured the NCAA Championship in 1979 and 2000.
MSU's .673 winning percentage is the ninth-best all-time in NCAA Tournament play, while the program's 76 total victories rank sixth all-time.
Michigan State's 10 Final Four appearances are tied for sixth most.
MSU's 39 tournament appearances are tied for the ninth-most all-time.

IZZO'S NCAA Streak

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is making his 28th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
It's the longest streak in Division I men's basketball history, ranking ahead of Gonzaga's Mark Few (26, active), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (24) and North Carolina's Dean Smith (23).
Izzo's 28 tournament appearances rank tied for fifth-most all-time, and are second among active coaches behind only Rick Barnes (30, Tennessee, Texas, Clemson, Providence).

MSU in Opening Round Games

In its 38 NCAA Tournaments, Michigan State has a record of 30-8 in its first game of the tournament.
Since the field expanded in 1985, the Spartans are 26-8 in opening games, including 26-7 in the round of 64.
Tom Izzo is 21-5 in the round of 64.