East Lansing — It’s easy for 28 years of NCAA Tournament berths to feel monotonous, but Selection Sunday still felt like a holiday for Michigan State this year.
Michigan State drew a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament in Sunday’s selection show, facing No. 14 seed North Dakota State in the Round of 64 on at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday, March 19. The game will start at 4:05 p.m. and will be televised by TNT.
Though the Spartans are regulars in the Big Dance, coaches and players are keen on making the most of a moment other programs dream about.
“We used to be one of those teams sitting there on the end of our seats, cheering and yelling and screaming and excited that we got in the tournament,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said Sunday after taking in the selection show with his granddaughter on his lap. “I hope our fans and our players realize it’s still an accomplishment, a big accomplishment, and it’s fun to feel that way.”
The Spartans could face No. 6 seed Louisville or No. 11 seed South Florida in the Round of 32 should they win Thursday’s game. Michigan State is in the East Region, where No. 1 seed Duke, No. 2 seed UConn and No. 4 seed Kansas will also play.
Michigan State (25-7) would play its Sweet Sixteen opponent March 27 and a potential Elite Eight game March 29. Those games will be held at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. The Final Four is in Indianapolis and will be held April 4 and 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
During a film session before the selection show announced the Spartans’ draw, assistant coach Saddi Washington gave his players a reminder that these NCAA Tournament berths aren’t something to take for granted. The Western Michigan grad (where he’s a candidate for a head coaching vacancy) pointed out how hard it is to crack the 68-team field.
“He was just saying, like, coming from the mid-major level, really buy in and really just embrace the moment, embrace seeing your name up there, embrace kind of sitting there, stress-free,” said Carson Cooper, a senior who will play in his final March Madness. “… And I think it is really cool, and it’s something that for us, we’re only able to do it four times.”
Michigan State has never played North Dakota State (27-7), coached by David Richman, who led the Bison to their third NCAA berth in his 12 seasons at the helm by beating rival North Dakota in the Summit League championship game. The team also earned a spot in 2020’s field before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the postseason.
North Dakota State guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas leads his team with 14.4 points per game while Trevian Carson averages 12.0 points per game. The Bison average 80.7 points per game (70th in Division I) on 46.8% shooting (78th) and give up 69.6 points per game on defense (64th). The team’s best win was Nov. 17 against Southern Illinois, which ranks 117th in KenPom. The Bison ranked 113th.
This is Michigan State’s fourth No. 3 seed. It lost to Weber State in the first round of 1995’s NCAA Tournament, lost to Duke in 2013’s Sweet Sixteen and lost to Syracuse in the Round of 32 in 2018.
Michigan State March Madness bracket live updates
Purdue’s Big Ten championship game win knocked Spartans down to No. 3 seed
Purdue giveth and Purdue taketh away.
Purdue’s win in the Big Ten title game did in fact push the Boilermakers past the Spartans for a No. 2 seed. Selection committee chair Keith Gill confirmed that to reporters on a Zoom call Sunday night.
“The Big Ten championship had an impact on our seed line,” Gill said. “… So prior to the championship we had Purdue as (No.) 11 overall, so they would’ve been on that three line. But based on the results of the Big Ten championship and Purdue getting that win, we scrubbed them and they ended up … on the 2-line as the eighth overall seed. And they scrubbed past Michigan State, Illinois and Gonzaga.”
Michigan State had risen to a projected No. 2 seed after knocking off the Boilermakers 76-74 on Feb. 26 at Mackey Arena. A loss to UCLA in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament left the seed line out of the Spartans’ control, and in the end they slipped after Purdue’s rise to the final No. 2 seed in the field.
A record 28th straight NCAA berth for Michigan State
No program has had the consistency of Michigan State under Tom Izzo, who is sending his team dancing into March Madness for the 28th straight season to extend its lead among active Tournament streaks. This year’s appearance also ties Kansas’ 28 straight NCAA Tournament bids from 1990 to 2017 for the most consecutive appearances all-time, as recognized by the NCAA. Kansas made the Final Four in 2018 but the appearances was vacated by the NCAA due to ineligible player Silvio De Sousa. Kansas is set to make its 36th straight field in 2026. Michigan State could have held the record all by itself this season had the 2020 NCAA Tournament not been shut down due to COVID-19. The Spartans were a Final Four hopeful that year.
In the current 28-year span, Izzo has led the Spartans to eight Final Fours (most among active coaches) and a national championship in 2000.
The streak dates back to 1998, when the Mateen Cleaves-led Flintstones cracked the Sweet Sixteen — the first of 16 such appearances under Izzo. A year ago, the Spartans went all the way to the Elite Eight. In his 31st year as head coach, Izzo is looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2019, with Cassius Winston.
Where to watch Selection Sunday
CBS airs the NCAA’s selection show at 6 p.m. ET. The show can be also streamed on Paramount+.
The entire 68-team field will be unveiled during the Selection Show, including the matchups for the First Four games Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. That field will trim down to the Final Four when teams arrive in at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, April 4.
How does Michigan State fare after a loss to open Big Ten Tournament? Fairly well!
Friday’s 88-84 loss to UCLA sent Michigan State into Selection Sunday, but an early loss in the Big Ten Tournament isn’t always a bad thing for Michigan State.
In the seven times Michigan State lost its first game of the Big Ten Tournament, the Spartans made the Final Four three times and the Sweet Sixteen five times. Michigan State owns a 16-7 record over those seven postseasons.
Michigan State lost its opening game of the Big Ten Tournament in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 200, 2021 and 2023. In 2001, 2005 and 2010, the Spartans made the Final Four, and in 1998 and 2023 they made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
A peculiar note: In two of those postseason appearances, North Carolina knocked Michigan State out of the postseason: 1998 in the Sweet Sixteen and 2005 in the Final Four. In 2002, North Carolina State knocked out Michigan State in the first round. In 2021, Michigan State lost a First Four game to none other than UCLA.
Spartans’ runs comes in bunches
It takes a lot of talent and a little bit of luck to win in March Madness. In the case of Michigan State, that success comes in bunches. Out of 11 Final Four appearances in Izzo’s tenure, seven have come in succession. Michigan State made three straight Elite Eights from 1999 to 2001 and back-to-back appearances in 2009 and 2010 as well as 2014 and 2015. After making it there in 2025, will the Spartans grow that streak of streaks?
That list of successive Elite Eights may have grown in 2020 had the COVID-19 pandemic not ended the senior season of All-American point guard Cassius Winston, a year after he had led the Spartans to the Final Four in 2019.
Part of why Michigan State’s success comes in streaks has to do with Tom Izzo’s need to find the right point guard leading the way. Mateen Cleaves led the 1999 and 2000 appearances; Kalin Lucas guided the way in 2009 and 2010. Winston was trending that way after his 2019 appearance.
In describing current point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., Tom Izzo has invoked those comparisons. He led the Spartans to the Elite Eight last season in his first year as a starter and is an even larger part of this season’s team. He leads Michigan State with 15.5 points per game and Division I with 9.1 assists per game and just broke Winston’s MSU single season assists record.
Michigan State enters NCAA Tournament amid one of its best two-year stretches ever
The Flintstones years may very well be Michigan State’s high water mark, leading to Tom Izzo’s only national championship in 2000. This current stretch is among its best.
With a 55-14 record (.797) over the past two seasons, Michigan State owns its fourth best win percentage under Tom Izzo in any two-year stretch. It’s the best record since a 59-15 run from 2008 to 2010, with a 62-12 stretch from 2017 to 2019 second best. Izzo’s 1998-2000 run remains his program’s best: 65-12 and a national championship. All of those two-year stretches ended in at least a Final Four, and two ended in national championship game appearances.
Michigan State won its 17th Big Ten championship in 2025, the 11th under Tom Izzo. This season, Michigan State tied with Nebraska for second place in the conference at 15-5, as rival Michigan captured the Big Ten title outright with a 19-1 record in conference play.
Part of Michigan State’s success this season came from a historically hot start. The Spartans went 19-2 to open the year, tied with 2007-08 and 2013-14 for the best starts under Izzo’s helm. Michigan State made at least the Sweet Sixteen in both of those seasons.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo still chasing second title
It took Tom Izzo just five seasons to win a national championship as his Flintstones cut down the nets in 2000. Now in the 25th postseason since, Izzo is still looking for another national championship title.
Izzo’s 59 postseason wins tie Arkansas’ John Calipari for the most among active coaches and fifth all-time. Both will be in the field this March. However, that elusive second title keeps Izzo from joining a short list of multi-championship coaches. John Wooden (10 titles) leads a list of 17 men’s basketball coaches to win at least two national championships, with Bill Self, Dan Hurley and Rick Pitino the only active coaches among them (Pitino’s 2013 title with Louisville was vacated by the NCAA).
Big Ten hasn’t won national championship since 2000 Spartans
If Tom Izzo is still looking for another national championship, then so is the larger Big Ten conference, The Spartans’ 2000 title is the Big Ten’s only title in the past 25 NCAA tournaments.
The Big Ten got close in 2024 when Zach Edey and Purdue made it to the national championship game but lost 75-60 to UConn. Donte DiVincenzo and Villanova handled Michigan in 2018, 79–62, in 2018. Duke beat Wisconsin in 2015, and Louisville beat Michigan for 2013’s now vacated title, with four other Big Ten appearances in the title game following 2000’s MSU title. Michigan State had another shot in 2009 but lost the national championship game 89-72 to North Carolina at Ford Field in Detroit.
The ACC and Big East lead all NCAA conferences with eight national championships each out of the past 25. The SEC has four, including Florida’s 2025 title. The Big 12 has won it all three of those years, and UConn gave the American Athletic Conference a title in 2014.
How many times has Tom Izzo made the Final Four?
Can Michigan State make another Final Four run in 2026? Michigan State has made the Final Four eight times under head coach Tom Izzo: in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2019. Those eight are the most by any coach since 1999.
The only coaches who have gone to more Final Fours are:
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke: 13 (five national championships)
John Wooden, UCLA: 12 (10 national championships
Dean Smith, North Carolina: 11 (two national championships)
Roy Williams, Kansas/North Carolina: nine (three national championships)
What is Michigan State’s all-time record …
As a No. 3 seed: 2-2 (Last: 2013, Sweet Sixteen)
After a loss in first game of Big Ten Tournament: 5-3 next game, 16-7 overall (Last: 2023, Sweet Sixteen)
In the Midwest Region: 23-8 (Last: 2018, Second Round)
In the East Region: 16-9 (Last: 2023, Sweet Sixteen)
In the South Region: 16-6 (Last: 2025, Elite Eight)
In the West Region: 4-3 (Last: 2024, Second Round)
When does March Madness start?
NCAA Tournament March Madness begins with the First Four games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. There are two games matching No. 11 seeds and two matching No. 16 seeds.
The rest of the tournament gets underway Thursday with first-round games in each of the four regions ― Midwest, East, South and West. Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Florida are the projected No. 1 seeds in this year’s field.
Has Michigan State basketball ever been a No. 1 seed?
Michigan State has been a No. 1 seed five times, most recently in 2012. Three times as a No. 1 seed, the Spartans made the Final Four, including a run of three straight from 1999 to 2001 that included the 2000 national championship led by Mateen Cleaves.
In 1990, Michigan State lost a Sweet Sixteen game to Georgia Tech in controversy as replay appeared to show Kenny Anderson’s buzzer-beater went in after time had expired. Officials called the 3-pointer a 2 to force overtime, where the Yellowjackets stung the Spartans 81-80. In 2012, Michigan State lost to Rick Pitino’s Louisville, 57-44, in the Sweet Sixteen in Draymond Green’s final game as a Spartan.
1990: Lost in Sweet 16 to Georgia Tech
1999: Lost in Final Four semifinals to Duke
2000: Beat Florida in national championship game
2001: Lost in Final Four semifinals to Arizona
2012: Lost in the Sweet 16 to Louisville
This year, Michigan State won’t be a No. 1 seed. More likely, the Spartans land with a No. 2 seed or a No. 3 seed.
Michigan State basketball March Madness history
Michigan State has a 76-37 record in 38 NCAA Tournaments, with 10 Final Fours and two national championship (1979, 2000).
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan State basketball lands No. 3 seed in East in NCAA Tournament
Reporting by Connor Earegood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
