Michigan State basketball faces off against North Dakota State in NCAA tournament first round Michigan State, seeded third, will take on 14th-seeded North Dakota State in the NCAA tournament first round on Thursday at 4:05 p.m. The game will be held at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, and will be broadcast on TNT with radio coverage on Spartan Sports Network, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM. The matchup pits a top-ranked team against an unranked but highly competitive opponent, with Michigan State aiming to extend its NCAA tournament streak and North Dakota State seeking its first tournament victory since 2019. Michigan State enters the game with a 25-7 overall record, finishing second in the Big Ten at 15-5. The Spartans, ranked No. 11 in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches polls, have shown strong performance in recent weeks, including a strong finish to the regular season. Their offensive and defensive efficiency rankings—No. 24 and No. 13, respectively, per Kenpom—suggest they are nearing the level required to compete for a national title. However, their defensive numbers have dipped slightly, though they remain dominant on the glass, ranking first nationally in defensive rebounding and fourth in offensive rebounding. Junior point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has been a standout for Michigan State, setting a single-season assist record with 294, surpassing the previous mark held by Cassius Winston. Fears, who leads the nation in assists at 9.2 per game, has been named to second-team All-American honors by the Associated Press and third-team by the Sporting News. Coach Tom Izzo, in his 31st season with the Spartans, has guided the team to its 28th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.#tnt #michigan_state #north_dakota_state #keybank_center #spartan_sports_network
Summit League Preview: NDSU vs. UND North Dakota State men's basketball is back in the Summit League championship game for the 10th time in 14 years. The Bison take on in-state rival North Dakota at 8 p.m. tonight inside the Denny Sanford Premier Center. NDSU cruised to a 74-50 semifinal win over Omaha on Saturday night, holding the defending league champions to 30% shooting. The big men dominated for the Bison as Treyson Anderson had 16 points on just eight field goal attempts while Noah Feddersen had his second straight double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. A win for NDSU would be its first Summit League Tournament title since 2020. The Bison swept the Fighting Hawks by an average margin of victory of 25 points during the regular season. A dominant second half guided NDSU to an 83-66 win in Grand Forks before a blowout 96-63 win in front of a record crowd at the SHAC just eight days ago. The Bison made 16 threes in that game, seven by Tay Smith, and held UND to 31% shooting. The Bison and Fighting Hawks last met in the Summit League Tournament for the 2020 championship game. NDSU blew out UND, 89-53, in that game en route to its fifth Summit title. Through two tournament games, NDSU has held its opponents to 34.3% shooting and 29 turnovers. UND, the 3 seed in this year's tournament, came away with a 67-66 upset win over No. 2 seed St. Thomas last night. The Hawks trailed by seven, 47-40, in the second half, but ended the game on a 27-19 run. Eli King came away with an errant Austin Herro pass and George Natsvlishvili hit a free throw with 0.1 second to play, giving UND its second berth into the Summit League title game. Greyson Uelmen had another solid performance, scoring 2,8 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Uelmen averaged 14.#denny_sanford_premier_center #north_dakota_state #university_of_north_dakota #summit_league_tournament #summit_league_championship_game
