The No. 3 seeded Kansas State Wildcats (25-9) will host the No. 7 seeded Michigan State Spartans (21-12) on Thursday night in a Sweet 16 matchup in the East Region.
Thursday will mark the 15th career Sweet 16 appearance for head coach Tom Izzo who has a career 687-287 record at Michigan State. The Spartans went 11-8 in the Big Ten during the regular season and was upset by Ohio State 68-58 in the conference tournament's quarterfinals. The Spartans opened up the NCAA Tournament by beating the USC Trojans 72-62 in the opening round and the Marquette Golden Eagles 69-60 in the second round.
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— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) March 19, 2023
The Spartans are rated 24th by KenPom, 32nd on the defensive end and 37th offensively. Michigan State is 17-16 against the spread, and the over-under is 16-17 in their games. They are one of the most battle-tested teams in the nation, ranking fifth in the strength of schedule. The Spartan's resume includes non-conference wins over Kentucky, Villanova, and Oregon, along with losses to Gonzaga and Alabama.
Michigan State is a strong three-point and free throw shooting team, ranking third in the nation knocking down (40.1%) from three and 29th hitting 76.4% from the charity stripe. The Spartans are led by upperclassmen Tyson Walker (14.8 ppg), Joey Hauser (14.3 ppg, 7.1 rebs), and A.J. Hoggard (12.5 ppg).
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