CHICAGO – Michigan State enters the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 seed UCLA or No. 14 seed Rutgers on Friday, March 13 (9 p.m., BTN) at the United Cener in Chicago. The Spartans have won six Big Ten Tournament titles overall. This is the sixth time MSU has been the No. 3 seed, reaching the finals twice and winning in 2014.
Friday’s game will air live on BTN with Kevin Kugler, Robbie Hummel and Andy Katz 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, Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst and Zach Surdenik as the studio host. The game can also be heard on channel 83 on SiriusXM or on the SiriusXM app.
About the Spartans
- Michigan State enters Friday’s Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal game with a 25-6 overall record, including a 15-5 mark in the Big Ten Conference.
- The Spartans are No. 8 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 and ESPN Coaches polls and are one of nine schools w/at least nine Quad 1 wins and are one of 14 schools nationally with at least 14 Quad 1/2 wins.
- MSU is No. 12 in the country in assists (18.3 apg), with Jeremy Fears Jr. No. 1 nationally with 9.1 apg.
- MSU ranks No. 3 in the country in rebound margin (+11.7) and Jaxon Kohler is No. 29 nationally with 9.1 rpg.
- The Spartans are No. 38 nationally in scoring defense (68.0 ppg) and rank No. 8 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.
- MSU ranks No. 13 nationally, and lead the B1G, in fast break points (16.3 ppg) … MSU’s captains (Carson Cooper, Kohler, Coen Carr, Fears Jr.) have combined for 64.2% of the team’s scoring (1,567 of 2,442 points) and average 50.5 ppg, 23.9 rpg and 12.9 assists.
- Through 31 games, MSU has four players scoring in double figures and eight averaging at least 5.0 ppg.
- Fears, who leads the team with 32.0 minutes played, leads the team with 15.5 ppg and is handing out 9.1 assists per game, first in Division I … His 281 total assists rank No. 1 in the country … His 8.8 apg in Big Ten games tied the season record of 8.8 set last year by Purdue’s Braden Smith.
- Kohler is second on the team in scoring with 12.8 ppg and tops the team with 9.1 rpg (2nd B1G, #29 nationally) … Kohler ranks No. 23 nationally with 12 double-doubles this season & has scored in double figures 23 times … His 9.1 rebounds are the most since Xavier Tillman Sr. had 10.3 in 2019-20.
- Carr, one of the most athletic players in all of college basketball, is third on the team with 11.5 ppg, third on the team with 5.3 rpg and 1.2 apg in 29.1 mpg.
- Cooper, who had 16 points and a career-best 16 rebounds vs. Duke and scored a career-high 20 points against Ohio State, is playing a career-high 26.4 minutes, is fourth on the team with 10.7 ppg and second with 7.1 rpg, ninth in the B1G … He has scored in double figures 18 times.
- Jordan Scott is averaging 5.9 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 20.4 mpg (7.4 ppg and 2.9 rpg in 22.9 mpg in B1G) and Cam Ward is averaging 5.1 ppg and is fourth on the team with 4.3 rpg.
- Kur Teng, who scored a career-high 18 points at Indiana, is averaging 7.5 ppg and 2.1 rpg, while senior guard Trey Fort is tallying 3.7 ppg, redshirt freshman Jesse McCulloch is averaging 2.4 ppg and 1.3 rpg and senior guard Denham Wojcik averages 1.3 assists in 5.8 minutes.
- Divine Ugochukwu, out for the season with a left foot injury, averaged 5.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 1.6 apg in 16.9 mpg in 22 games.
Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament
- The Spartans are looking to capture their seventh Big Ten Tournament championship, as they are the only Big Ten team with six tournament titles.
- In 27 previous years of the Big Ten Tournament, MSU has a record of 36-21.
- The Spartans won the tournament in 1999, 2000, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2019, and lost in the quarterfinals in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2017 and 2024.
- MSU lost in the semifinals in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2018 and 2025, and dropped the 2015 title game in overtime.
MSU as a No. 3 Seed
- This is the sixth time Michigan State has entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
- MSU was the No. 3 seed in 2004, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
- The Spartans have a 7-4 record all-time as the tournament’s No. 3 seed.
- Michigan State won the tournament (Indianapolis) in 2014 as a No. 3 seed and reached the finals in 2015, losing to Wisconsin in overtime.
- MSU is 3-2 as a No. 3 seed when the Big Ten Tournament is played in Chicago.
Michigan State in March
- Michigan State has a 128-61 (.677) in March since the 1998-99 season.
- For his career, Head Coach Tom Izzo is 135-67 (.668) in Coach Izzo calls his favorite month of the year.