Michigan State has reached the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the 26th consecutive year, and was able to defeat the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Round of 64 game by a final score of 69-51. The No. 9-seeded Spartans now are set to take on the No. 1-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday.

This game will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Spectrum Center at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will broadcast live on CBS.

This meeting between the Spartans and Tar Heels will determine who will earn a spot in the Sweet 16 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State: Depth Chart and State of the Team

1 - A.J. Hoggard (6’4” Sr.), Tre Holloman (6’2” So.)

2 - Tyson Walker (6’0” Graduate Sr.)

3 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Jr.), Coen Carr (6’5” Fr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" Fr.)

4 - Malik Hall (6’8” Graduate Sr.), Xavier Booker (6'11" Fr.)

5 - Mady Sissoko (6’9” Sr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” So.), Jaxon Kohler (6’9” So.)

Injured: Jeremy Fears Jr. (6'2" Fr.)

Rankings & Ratings: No. N/A, RV (AP), No. N/A, RV (Coaches), No. 23 (NET), No. 19 (Kenpom), No. 22 (Barttorvik)

Michigan State was able to get off on the right foot in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, as the Spartans knocked off Mississippi State on Thursday by the aforementioned final score of 69-51. This was a victory that MSU head coach Tom Izzo called an 'old school win.'

The Spartans led from start to finish against the Bulldogs, and broke open a close game midway through the second half with some great defense and fluid offense.

Graduate senior guard Tyson Walker scored 19 points to lead the Spartans, while junior guard Jaden Akins finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Additionally, graduate senior forward Malik Hall had 10 points and five rebounds.

The Spartans were able to get contributions from everyone in what was nearly a flawless game, outside of the turnovers. Mississippi State was known for being a physical team, but Michigan State was up to the challenge and out-rebounded the Bulldogs by a tally of 35-29.

The Spartans have some positive momentum coming into Saturday's game against North Carolina, but the top-seeded Tar Heels pose a whole new set of challenges.

North Carolina: Depth Chart and State of the Team

1 - Elliot Cadeau (6'1" Fr.), Seth Trimble (6’3” So.)

2 - RJ Davis (6’0” Sr.)

3 - Cormac Ryan (6'5" Sr.)

4 - Harrison Ingram (6'7" Sr.), Jae'Lyn Withers (6'9" Sr.)

5 - Armando Bacot (6'11" Sr.), Jalen Washington (6'10" So.)

Injured:

Rankings & Ratings: No. N/A, RV (AP), No. N/A, RV (Coaches), No. 8 (NET), No. 9 (Kenpom), No. 8 (Barttorvik)

The No. 1 seed and regular season ACC champion North Carolina Tar Heels handled their first round matchup easily in a 90-62 victory over Wagner on Thursday in the Round of 64.

Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds and Jae'Lyn Withers turned in a solid all-around performance. Withers, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Louisville, had a season-high 16 points and matched his best rebounding work with 10 boards.

This North Carolina team is very balanced and has a lot of pieces, starting with first-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis. The 6-foot senior is averaging 21.4 points and 3.5 assists per game, and is an elite shooter from the outside, knocking down 110 3-pointers this year on 41.0% shooting from the outside.

Bacot made second-team All ACC as a 6-foot-11, 240-pound big man on the inside. He led the conference in rebounding with 10.3 per game and also scores 14.3 points per game. Bacot recorded had a double-double in each of his last four games.

Harrison Ingram made third-team all-conference as a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward. He can score from inside and out and averages 12.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Cormac Ryan is an important role player for the Tar Heels, as the 6-foot-5 senior guard gets 11.3 points per game.

North Carolina is ranked ninth overall, according to kenpom.com (Michigan State currently checks in at 16th). The Tar Heels are 19th in offensive efficiency and seventh in defensive efficiency.

-Michigan State's non-negotiables to beat North Carolina

-Ten Thoughts: How Michigan State can beat North Carolina

-Photo Gallery: Michigan State 69, Mississippi State 51

-Ten Thoughts: Team effort carries the Spartans past the Bulldogs

-Michigan State advances in NCAA Tournament, downs Mississippi State 69-51

-Michigan State's victory over Mississippi State was an 'old school win'

The Spartans are up against a massive challenge in this game, taking on one of the best guards in the country (Davis) and one of the better bigs in the country (Bacot).

Coach Izzo and his staff did a great job of defensive game planning in the first round game against Mississippi State. I look for the MSU coaching staff to do the same in this game, possibly with a focus on double-teaming Bacot and making others like Ingram and Cormac beat you.

The Spartans must also get another good performance from Akins, who looked to break out of his slump on Thursday, and who will be imperative if the Spartans want to win on Saturday.

Prediction: Michigan State 78, North Carolina 70

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