Tournament opens with First 4 games

Michigan State and head coach Tom Izzo are in an unfamiliar position.

Last time there was an NCAA Tournament, the Spartans reached the Final Four in 2019 — the most recent of eight trips under Izzo.

This time, Michigan State needed a late surge just to get into the Big Dance, and it will have to win an extra game, too. The Spartans (1512) will face UCLA (179) on Thursday at Purdue in a First Four matchup of No. 11 seeds.

“You know and I know that three weeks ago, nobody gave us a chance, including probably most of you and probably even me,” Izzo said. “We fought our way through, and that took some courage and guts, and I’m proud of them for that.”

The Spartans started Big Ten play with three losses on their way to dropping nine of 13 overall, but they bounced back late in the season to beat Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois — which all finished in the top seven of the final AP poll.

Now, the Spartans will need to win Thursday’s matchup in West Lafayette, Ind., to reach the final 64 and play No. 6 seed BYU on Saturday.

“I’m not worried about facing anybody in this tournament,” Izzo said. “We truly, truly have played the best teams in the country on a nightin and nightout basis, and especially in the last two to three weeks.”

In another game at Purdue, Drake (254) and Wichita State (165) will play for the right to face No. 6 seed USC.

Drake head coach Darian DeVries need not worry about the outcome impacting his future, as he agreed to an eightyear contract extension through 202829, athletic director Brian Hardin announced Wednesday night.

In a game Thursday on Indiana’s home court in Bloomington, Mount St. Mary’s (1210) and Texas Southern (168) will meet, with the winner facing No. 1 seed Michigan on Saturday. Also at Indiana, Norfolk State (167) will face Appalachian State (1711), with the winner advancing to play No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga.

⏩ Marquette assistant Dwayne Killings was hired as Albany’s head coach.