No. 2 Seed Michigan State Meets No. 6 Seed Mississippi in Sweet Sixteen on Friday Night

ATLANTA, Ga. – No. 2 seed Michigan State plays No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Friday, March 28 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at State Farm Arena. MSU posted a 71-63 win over No. 10 seed New Mexico on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.

The game will air live on CBS, with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson calling all of the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst, and Zach Surdenik is the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 201 or 208 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app. The game can also be heard on Westwood One Radio, with Spero Dedes and Tom Crean calling the game.

About the Spartans

Michigan State has won 10 of its last 11 and 24 of the last 28 games overall and enters the game on Friday with a 29-6 overall record (17-3 B1G).
The Spartans advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament with a 71-63 win over New Mexico on Sunday night.
MSU, No. 8 in the Associated Press and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches polls, is ranked No. 11 in the NCAA Net Rankings, No. 8 per KenPom.com and No. 11 in the ESPN BPI.
The Spartans won at Iowa on March 6 (91-84) to clinch the Big Ten regular season title outright (the 11th under MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo, tied for the most in Big Ten history).
Michigan State beat Illinois, 79-65, on Feb. 15 on the road, a win that gave Izzo his 354th Big Ten Conference win, moving him past former Indiana coach Bob Knight for the all-time Big Ten lead.
The Spartans have emphasized "Strength in Numbers" this year, with 10 players playing at least 10 minutes per game, 9 different players leading the team in scoring and are one of 4 teams in the AP Top 25 with 7 players scoring at least 7.0 ppg.
Senior guard Jaden Akins leads the Spartans in scoring with 12.6 points per game and Michigan State is the only team in the country to have just two players averaging double-digit points while playing under 27.0 minutes per game (Jase Richardson, 12.1 ppg).
Akins leads the team with 12.7 ppg and is fourth with 3.5 rpg, while Richardson is averaging 11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists, junior guard Tre Holloman is third on the team, averaging 9.3 ppg and 3.8 assists (13th B1G), junior forward Jaxon Kohler, who has seven double-doubles this year, is scoring 7.8 ppg and leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per game (9th B1G).
Sophomore forward Coen Carr is averaging 8.0 ppg and 3.7 rpg, redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is averaging 7.4 points and a team-leading 5.4 assists per game (3rd B1G) and senior forward Frankie Fidler adds 7.0 ppg and 3.3 rpg.
MSU is averaging 22.5 FT attempts per game (No. 31 in the country) and the Spartans rank No. 23 in the country in FT percentage (77.6%) and No. 13 in FT made per game (17.5).
The Spartans are No. 3 in the country in fast break points per game (16.14 ppg) and No. 5 in bench points (34.46 ppg).
MSU also ranks No. 1 in 3-point FG percentage defense (27.8%), No. 2 in rebound margin (+9.4), No. 9 in defensive rebounds per game (28.00/g) and No. 13 in rebounds per game (40.06).
Michigan State is 26-1 when scoring 70 or more points and 20-1 when holding opponents below 70 ... MSU scored 36 points off the bench vs. New Mexico, the 24th time this year with at least 30 points.

Spartans in the Sweet 16

This is MSU's 18th trip to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, including the 16th under Tom Izzo.
Michigan State is 10-7 in Sweet 16 games since 1985, having won 10 of its last 14 ... All-time, MSU is 14-7 in the regional semifinals.
Tom Izzo is 10-5 in the Sweet 16.

SIXTEEN Sweet 16s In 27 Years

Since Michigan State's first trip to the NCAA Tournament under Tom Izzo in 1998, the Spartans have advanced to the Sweet 16 16 times in the last 27 tournaments.
Since 2000, only Duke (17) has more Sweet 16 appearances than Michigan State's 14 (and Kansas).
Kentucky, UNC, and Gonzaga are tied with 13 and UCLA has 12 since 2000.
The Spartans have reached the Sweet 16 10 times in the last 17 tournaments.

About Ole Miss

The Rebels enter the Sweet 16 with a 24-11 overall record after defeating No. 11 seed North Carolina in the first round, 71-64, and No. 3 seed Iowa State in the second round, 91-78.
Ole Miss tied for sixth in the SEC standings with a 10-8 conference record.
Ole Miss ranks fifth in the nation in turnover margin (+5.2) and turns the ball over just nine times a game, which ranks fourth best in the country.

Series History

In the only previous matchup between the two schools, top-seeded Michigan State beat ninth-seeded Mississippi in the second round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, 74-66, on March 14, 1999, in Milwaukee.
Michigan State went on to win the Midwest Regional that year and advanced to the first of Tom Izzo's eight Final Fours.

No. 2 Seed Michigan State Meets No. 6 Seed Mississippi in Sweet Sixteen on Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

No. 2 Seed Michigan State Meets No. 6 Seed Mississippi in Sweet Sixteen on Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

Related Videos