No. 7 seed Michigan State set to face No. 10 seed USC in East Region
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State basketball will open its 2023 NCAA Tournament against No. 10 seed USC (22-10) after the bracket was revealed Sunday evening.
Michigan State (19-12), the No. 7 seed in the East Region, will look to bounce back after an early Big Ten Tournament exit, falling to Ohio State 68-58 in the quarterfinals. Michigan State’s opening round game will be played on Mar. 17 in Columbus, Ohio.
This will mark Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo’s 25th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, an all-time record for men’s Division 1 basketball coaches. He surpasses former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Prior to this season, Krzyzewski held the record with 24, dating back to 1996. Izzo’s NCAA Tournament streak began in 1998, three years after he was hired as the Spartans’ head coach.
The Spartans finished their conference schedule with an 11-8 record, winning 5 of their last 7 games. Michigan State’s Feb. 15 game against Minnesota, which was set to take place at the Breslin Center, was postponed due to the tragic events on campus on Feb. 13. The game was never rescheduled after a new date could not be finalized by the Big Ten Conference.
Michigan State, led by three Spartans who earned All-Big Ten honors voted on by coaches and media, will look to make a deep run. Senior guard Tyson Walker was named unanimous Second Team All-Big Ten. Junior guard A.J. Hoggard was named Third Team All-Big Ten by the media and honorable mention by coaches. Senior forward Joey Hauser was unanimously voted honorable mention All-Big Ten.
Walker is averaging 14.6 points shooting 46 percent from the field. Hoggard leads the Spartans with 6.0 assists per game while averaging 12.5 points. Hauser, the Spartans’ senior leader, is averaging 14.2 points shooting 45.6 percent from behind the arc.
Michigan State will also need to rely heavily on sophomore guard Jaden Akins and junior center Mady Sissoko. While senior forward Malik Hall, freshman bigs Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, and freshman guard Tre Holloman must provide productive depth.
USC went 22-10 and 14-6 in the Pac-12.
In the non-conference, USC had a 73-66 overtime loss to Tennessee on Thanksgiving Day in The Bahamas. USC lost the next day to Wisconsin, 64-59.
USC posted a 74-71 victory over Auburn on Dec. 18.
USC went one-and-done in the Pac-12 Tournament, losing to Arizona State, 77-72 on Thursday. USC had beaten Arizona State five days earlier in the final game of the regular season – a scenario that is a perfect match to Michigan State’s loss to Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
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