Michigan State men's basketball remains atop the nation in its active streak of NCAA Tournament appearances for yet another year after earning the No. 2 Seed in the South Region. The Spartans are in the tournament for a 27th-straight season with the official bracket being released.
Facing the Spartans in the opening Round of 64 will be the Bryant Bullogs. Tip is set for approximately 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday night on TBS.
MSU will open play in the tournament on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio. The Bulldogs earned the automatic bid after winning the America East Conference Tournament Championship yesterday at the Chace Athletic Center. Bryant was the No. 1 seed overall in the tournament after winning the regular season title and downed No. 3 Maine for the tournament crown and the auto-bid.
The appearance will mark the second time the Bulldogs will appear in the Division I NCAA Tournament, with the prior appearance occurring in 2022. Bryant lost to Wright State in the play-in round that season.
Awaiting the Bulldogs will be the Spartans who enter with the regular season crown from the Big Ten. Hall of fame head coach Tom Izzo marks his 27th consecutive tournament appearance, with the same number of career appearances overall, and the Spartans will be making their 38th overall appearance in program history.
Should MSU advance to the Round of 32, awaiting it will be either No. 7 Marquette or No. 10 New Mexico. Also in the bracket in the Spartans' region is the No. 1 overall seed, Auburn, and archrival Michigan as the No. 5 seed.
The South Regional will be played in Atlanta at State Farm Arena on March 28 and March 30.