For the 23rd consecutive year, Tom Izzo and the Michigan state basketball team are dancing.
Your 11th Spartans will start their tournament against UCLA on Thursday night’s First Four. If the Spartans move on, they will face BYU. The pick-up time will be at 9:57 pm, so get ready for a light night. It is worth remembering that this year the first shift will be on Friday and Saturday and the second on Sunday and Monday.
MSU last played at UCLA in 2019 in Las Vegas, when the Spartans defeated the Bruins 75-62.
Even before things started, the Spartans can count on a beautiful victory, as they now hold the second longest running NCAA Tournament streak, with Duke failing to make it this season.
This is the first time since the difficult 2010-11 season that the Spartans have obtained a double-digit seed. In 2011, the Spartans were one of the top 10 seed, eliminated in the first round by UCLA, after a late comeback attempt failed in a 78-76 defeat.
The Spartans are one of nine Big Ten teams to reach Big Dance, breaking their own record set in 2019 when the Big Ten sent eight teams to the tournament. The maximum of any conference ever was in 2011, when Big East sent 11 teams to dance.