Category: Tom Izzo

Michigan State Basketball vs. UCLA: Game details, TV info released for MSU’s first NCAA Tournament game

The channel and tip-off time for Michigan State’s play-in game for the 11-seed against UCLA have been revealed.

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Michigan State Basketball will open their NCAA Tournament run with a match-up against UCLA for the 11-seed in a First Four play-in game, and now we know when that game will start.

The Spartans will take on the Bruins this Thursday at 9:57 p.m. ET in Purdue’s Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. The game will be broadcast on TBS.

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This is a tough tip time for the Spartans. Being a west coast team, UCLA could theoretically have an advantage playing later at night in the eastern time zone, although I am sure Tom Izzo will have his team ready to go. Michigan State also has not won a basketball game in Mackey Arena since 2014.

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WATCH: Michigan State Basketball drops video calling out doubters after landing NCAA Tournament bid

Michigan State dropped a video laughing at the doubters after they made the play-in game for the NCAA Tournament.

At the end of January and early February, it looked like Michigan State Basketball had little to no chance to make it into the NCAA Tournament. On Sunday, they completed the season turnaround, earning an NCAA Tournament bid by way of a play-in game for the 11-seed.

Now that they overcame the tough stretch of the season and found their way back into the Tournament, the team had a little fun at the expense of everyone who was ready to eulogize the season back in midseason.

Watch the fun video below:

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Get ready for March Madness by registering in advance for USA TODAY Sports’ bracket sweepstakes. In the meantime, mobile users can play USA TODAY Sports’ Couchketball virtual hoops challenge – the interactive basketball game where your skills determine the outcome.

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Michigan State Basketball players, Tom Izzo react to making NCAA Tournament as play-in team

Tom Izzo, Aaron Henry, and Joshua Langford spoke to the media on Sunday following Michigan State’s NCAA Tournament selection.

MSU Basketball is officially in the NCAA Tournament… as a play-in team. Michigan State will face UCLA on Thursday as part of the First Four slate of games for March Madness. If they can win that one, they will go on to play BYU as the 11-seed.

The Spartans have been in Indianapolis since losing a frustrating game to Maryland in game one of the Big Ten Tournament. Now, they prep for what they hope will be a memorable run.

Aaron Henry, Joshua Langford, and Tom Izzo all reacted to the news. You can find their best quotes below.

NCAA Selection Committee Chair gives lousy reason for why Michigan State has to face UCLA in play-in game

NCAA Selection Committee chair Mitch Barnhart gave a pretty terrible reason for why MSU has to face UCLA in a play-in game.

Well, Michigan State Basketball is officially in the NCAA Tournament, but fans have a right to be annoyed about their placement in the field.

The Spartans will face UCLA in a First Four play-in game on Thursday for the 11-seed. If they win that game, they will face BYU. The draw itself isn’t terrible, but the fact that MSU will be in a play-in game seems laughable considering the fact that the Spartans beat Michigan, Ohio State, and Illinois at the end of the season.

Syracuse was able to avoid a play-in game despite only beating one ranked team all season and only winning 2 road games all season… Michigan State is the only team in the country with more than one win over a top-5 team, and they have three…

When asked about Michigan State’s placement, NCAA Selection Committee chair Mitch Barnhart gave a pretty lousy excuse, saying: “…we thought it would be a heck of a way to start the tournament off.”

Barnhart essentially, perhaps by accident, admits that MSU was stuck in that play-in game as a ratings draw to kick off the Tournament. If that was really the reasoning, that is a slap in the face to the players and the program who will now have to win an additional game if they want to win a National Championship.

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Get ready for March Madness by registering in advance for USA TODAY Sports’ bracket sweepstakes. In the meantime, mobile users can play USA TODAY Sports’ Couchketball virtual hoops challenge – the interactive basketball game where your skills determine the outcome.

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Michigan State Basketball officially makes NCAA Tournament, will face UCLA in 11-seed play-in game

Michigan State has officially made the NCAA Tournament as a First Four team.

Michigan State Basketball had one of the most stressful, exciting couple of weeks in program history, knocking off three top-5 teams on their way to officially make the NCAA Tournament. It was announced on Sunday that the Spartans will be a First Four team, playing UCLA in a play-in game for the right to be a No. 11 seed in the Tournament.

If MSU is able to beat UCLA on Thursday, they will face BYU on Saturday.

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Michigan State now extends its NCAA Tournament streak to 23 straight seasons. With Duke out of March Madness for COVID-19 reasons, MSU now owns the second-best active NCAA Tournament streak.

Michigan State is in the East region, which has Michigan as a No. 1 seed. If MSU is able to advance, they could face No. 2 Alabama or potentially a rematch with No. 7 seed Maryland.

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Michigan State Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament History

Michigan State has a long tradition with the NCAA Tournament. We took a look at every run the Spartans have made.

Michigan State Men’s Basketball is currently fighting to keep their 2021 NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Spartans are looking to preserve and continue a Tournament tradition in East Lansing that started all the way back in 1957 with Forddy Anderson’s squad.

Since then, the Spartans were able to record two National Championships, one with Jud Heathcote and one with Tom Izzo. They also recorded a ton of awesome moments for fans along the way.

Below, we took a look at every single NCAA Tournament run for MSU in the history of the program.

 

 

Joe Lunardi: Michigan State basketball still safely in NCAA Tournament despite Maryland loss

Despite a loss to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament, Joe Lunardi still has MSU in the NCAA Tournament and still getting a bye.

For the second time in two weeks, Michigan State basketball suffered a frustrating loss to the Maryland Terrapins, this time in the Big Ten Tournament. However, the loss doesn’t seem to be affecting its NCAA Tournament hopes.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi posted a bracketology update following the first slate of conference tournament games, and MSU still looks safely in the tournament field. He still has them getting a bye.

This is great news for Spartan fans who might have left the Maryland game with a bad taste in their mouth.

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Get ready for March Madness by registering in advance for USA TODAY Sports’ bracket sweepstakes. In the meantime, mobile users can play USA TODAY Sports’ Couchketball virtual hoops challenge – the interactive basketball game where your skills determine the outcome.

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Key Takeaways from MSU basketball’s press conference following frustrating loss to Maryland

Michigan State had a frustrating loss against Maryland on Thursday. Here are the most interesting quotes following the game.

Michigan State basketball will likely remain in the NCAA Tournament field, but will definitely need to regroup following a frustrating loss on Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans will stay in Indianapolis until at least Selection Sunday, where they will find out their fate for the NCAA Tournament.

After the game, Tom Izzo, Aaron Henry and Malik Hall spoke to the media about a frustrating game and what is next for the Spartans.

Below, you can find the key takeaways from that media session.s

Andy Katz: MSU body of work should get them safely into NCAA Tournament

Andy Katz said on the broadcast of today’s game that Michigan State is all but confirmed to be in the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State Basketball just suffered one of their most frustrating losses of the season, losing the opener of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2010. It was a hard game to watch, in which foul calls clearly got in the Spartans’ heads and they were never able to recover.

However, not all is lost. At the end of the broadcast, NCAA analyst Andy Katz said he spoke with the NCAA Tournament Chair this morning, who all but confirmed that MSU will be in the Tournament regardless of what happened today:

If you are an MSU fan, you’ll be hoping for an 11-seed match-up out of this.

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WATCH: Classic Tom Izzo comes out in first round game against Maryland

Watch, Tom Izzo was not happy after a call made in Michigan State’s second-round game against Maryland.

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Michigan State is in the midst of their first Big Ten Tournament game against Maryland. Foul problems have come early and often for the Spartans in this matchup against the Terrapins.

Tom Izzo, much like many Spartan fans watching the game, is not pleased with how the game is being officiated.

Tom Izzo didn’t hide his displeasure with a call made by Bo Boroski and you can watch it here:

Tom Izzo received a technical foul a few possessions later after another Boroski call.

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