Michigan State Men's Basketball earns No. 3 Seed in East Region, will face No. 14 North Dakota State

Michigan State had its name called on Selection Sunday for the program's 28th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the longest active streak in the country. The Spartans earned the No. 3 seed in the East region. MSU will face off against No. 14 seed North Dakota State in Buffalo on Thursday. Start time is approximately 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time with the game being broadcast on TNT. It will mark the first meeting between the two programs.

All 28 appearances in the streak have occurred under head coach Tom Izzo and the streak dates back to 1998. It marks the 39th tournament bid for MSU in program history.

NDSU finished the season 27-7 overall and 14-2 in Summit League play. The Bison clinched their tournament bid with a Summit League title last Sunday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with a 70-62 victory over North Dakota, sweeping the intrastate rival 3-0 on the season. The only common opponent for the teams was a preseason exhibition matchup NDSU had at Minnesota, falling 80-54 in Minneapolis on Oct. 16.

The Bison are led by junior guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas who averages 14.4 points per game, while also averaging 2.8 assists per game and 1.2 steals per game. Right on his heels is fellow junior guard Trevian Carson in his first season on the roster after two seasons at Des Moines Area Community College. Carson is averaging 12.0 ppg and leads the team in rebounds with 6.4 rpg, assists with 2.76 apg, and steals with 1.85 spg. Senior guard Markhi Strickland originally with Western Michigan and sophomore forward Treyson Anderson round out players in double figures scoring with 11.8 ppg and 10.4 ppg, respectively.

On the season, the Bison are averaging 80.7 ppg while holding opponents to just 69.6. NDSU is also beating teams on the glass with a +4.8-rebound margin on the year. The Bison are also efficient with the ball, holding a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio thanks to a turnover average of 10.8 per game while scoring 16.7 ppg off opponent turnovers.

MSU finished the season 25-7 overall and 15-5 in Big Ten play.

Should the Spartans advance, waiting for them will be the winner of No. 6 Louisville and No. 11 South Florida.

Elsewhere in the East, Duke earned the overall No. 1 seed and will look to avoid a stunner by No. 16 Siena. Awaiting the Blue Devils unless No. 16 Siena pulls off a stunner will be the winner between fellow Big Ten-member No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 TCU.

UConn earned the No. 2 seed and will face No. 15 Furman. No. 7 UCLA will face No. 10 UCF with the winner moving on to face Uconn or Furman.

No. 4 Kansas is also in the East, facing No. 13 Cal Baptist. No. 5 St. John's or No. 12 Northern Iowa will be awaiting that winner. While the Jayhawks have appeared on-court in the NCAA 35-straight times, their 2018 appearance was later vacated by the IARP, thus negating any active streak as a result. KU now has an active streak of only eight tournaments to date as a result.