North Dakota State Bison at Michigan State Spartans

· NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - East Region - 1st Round

North Dakota State Bison

27-7, 10-5 Away

Michigan State Spartans

25-7, 15-2 Home

Michigan State Spartans face North Dakota State Bison in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Game Preview

North Dakota State Bison (27-7, 17-2 Summit League) vs. Michigan State Spartans (25-7, 15-6 Big Ten)

Buffalo, New York; Thursday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

Spartans -15.5; over/under is 143.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 11 Michigan State plays in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against North Dakota State.

The Spartans have gone 15-6 against Big Ten teams, with a 10-1 record in non-conference play. Michigan State ranks fifth in college basketball with 18.5 assists per game. Jeremy Fears Jr. leads the Spartans averaging 9.2.

The Bison's record in Summit League play is 17-2. North Dakota State ranks second in the Summit League shooting 36.5% from 3-point range.

Michigan State makes 47.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.3 percentage points higher than North Dakota State has allowed to its opponents (43.8%). North Dakota State averages 12.3 more points per game (80.7) than Michigan State allows to opponents (68.4).

TOP PERFORMERS: Jaxon Kohler is averaging 12.7 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Spartans. Fears is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games.

Damari Wheeler-Thomas is shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Bison, while averaging 14.4 points. Noah Feddersen is averaging 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 6-4, averaging 78.5 points, 33.8 rebounds, 18.1 assists, 3.9 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.2 points per game.

Bison: 8-2, averaging 79.3 points, 33.9 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.7 points.

TV Channel: North Dakota State at Michigan State 2021 College Basketball, week , is broadcasted on TNT.
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Michigan State: 94.2%

North Dakota State: 5.8%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Statistics

NDSU		MSU
W4	Streak	L2
69.6	Points Against	68.4
80.7	Points Per Game	78.9
47	Field Goal %	47
37	Three Point %	36
36.4	Rebounds Per Game	39.8
15.5	Assists Per Game	18.5
2.9	Blocks Per Game	4.1
8.3	Steals Per Game	5.1
0.4	Team Turnovers Per Game	0.7
11.1	Total Turnovers Per Game	12.2

Game Information

Venue: KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Capacity:

2025-26 Summit League Standings

TEAM	CONF	GB	OVER
North Dakota State	14-2	-	27-7
St. Thomas-Minnesota	12-4	2	24-10
North Dakota	10-6	4	18-17
South Dakota	8-8	6	16-16
Omaha	8-8	6	16-17
Denver	8-8	6	15-17
South Dakota State	7-9	7	14-18
Oral Roberts	4-12	10	10-23
Kansas City	1-15	13	4-27

2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings

TEAM	CONF	GB	OVER
Michigan	19-1	-	31-3
Nebraska	15-5	4	26-6
Michigan State	15-5	4	25-7
Illinois	15-5	4	24-8
Wisconsin	14-6	5	24-10
Purdue	13-7	6	27-8
UCLA	13-7	6	23-11
Ohio State	12-8	7	21-12
Iowa	10-10	9	21-12
Indiana	9-11	10	18-14
Minnesota	8-12	11	15-17
USC	7-13	12	18-14
Washington	7-13	12	16-17
Rutgers	6-14	13	14-19
Northwestern	5-15	14	15-19
Oregon	5-15	14	12-20
Maryland	4-16	15	12-21
Penn State	3-17	16	12-20