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Let’s dance: Michigan State basketball makes First Four vs. UCLA

For the 23rd consecutive year, MSU is in the Big Dance

By MattSheehan Updated
Indiana v Michigan State Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

For the 23rd consecutive year, Tom Izzo and the Michigan State basketball team is dancing.

Your No. 11-seeded Spartans will kick off their tournament against UCLA in Thursday night’s First Four, and the game will be played at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. Should the Spartans move on, they’ll be taking on BYU. Tip-off time will be at 9:57 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on TBS, so, prepare for a late night. It’s worth a reminder that this year the first round will take place Friday and Saturday with the second round going down on Sunday and Monday.

MSU last played UCLA in 2019 in Hawaii when the Spartans beat the Bruins to the tune of 75-62.

Even before things kick off, the Spartans can already count a nice victory as they now hold the second-longest active NCAA Tournament streak with Duke failing to make it this season.

This is the first time since the rocky 2010-11 season that the Spartans have gotten a double-digit seed. In 2011 the Spartans were a 10-seed ushered out in the first round by UCLA after a late comeback effort fell short in a 78-76 loss.

The Spartans are one of nine Big Ten teams to reach the Big Dance, breaking its own record set in 2019 when the Big Ten sent eight teams to the Tournament. The most from any conference all-time is in 2011 when the Big East sent a whopping 11 teams dancing.

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