Michigan State Basketball faces upset minded #15 seed Bradley in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Match-up: Michigan State Spartans (28-6) vs. Bradley Braves (20-14)
Date and time: Thursday, Mar. 21st at approximately 2:45 p.m. ET
TV schedule: CBS
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
The Spartans find themselves in a similar spot as last year as they begin the NCAA Tournament as a #2 seed playing a #15 seed from a mid-major conference. Michigan State enters the NCAA Tournament with the third longest active streak with 22nd straight NCAA Tournament appearances that is the third longest active streak behind only Duke and Kansas.
However, Michigan State looks to break a streak dating back to 2015 of not advancing to the round of 16. This Spartan team looks to capture the magic and essence of the 2009 team that was a #2 seed but was given a difficult path to the Final Four. For Bradley, it will be the first time since 2006 since they have been to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Missouri Valley conference tournament.
That 2006 Bradley team upset Kansas in the first round before beating Pittsburgh and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Memphis. Much is known about Michigan State as they have played in more nationally televised games and have a larger following in comparison to Bradley. Let’s take a look at the Braves and their season thus far.