(WXYZ) -- Michigan State will be the #3 seed in the Midwest Region for the NCAA Tournament, and will play #14 seed Bucknell on Friday at Little Caesars Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
The Spartans enter the tournament 29-4 following their loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Charles Barkley and Greg Gumbel break down the Midwest Region! #SelectionSunday #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/8GFVDwnkcF
— March Madness TV (@MarchMadnessTV) March 11, 2018
Michigan State
East Lansing, 29-4.
Nickname: Spartans. Coach: Tom Izzo.
Conference: Big Ten. Bid: At large.
Region: Midwest. Seed: No. 3.
Tournament History: 64-30, 9 Final Fours and 2 National Championships in 31 appearances.
Last appearance: 2017, lost to Kansas in the second round.
Season Stats
Scoring: 81.0 points per game, 50.4 fg pct, 41.3 3-pt pct, 75.1 ft pct.
Top Scorers: Miles Bridges 16.9; Nick Ward 12.6; Cassius Winston 12.6.
Rebounds: Ward 7.2; Bridges 6.9; Avg team margin (plus-10.4).
Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.47): Winston (6.8/2.5), 225 assists.
Last 10 Games: 9-1.
Best Win: 63-45 vs. North Carolina on Nov. 26.
Worst Loss: 80-64 at Ohio State on Jan. 7.
The Skinny: The young, talented Spartans have no ugly losses but were 2-4 against Top 25 RPI teams. They seem to struggle most with three and four guard lineups, see Michigan in a 76-64 loss in the Big Ten tourney semifinals. That game ended a 13-game winning streak that followed an 82-72 loss to the Wolverines.
Bucknell
Lewisburg, Pa., 25-9.
Nickname: Bison. Coach: Nathan Davis.
Conference: Patriot League. Bid: Automatic.
Region: Midwest. Seed: No. 14.
Tournament History: 2-7 in 7 appearances.
Last appearance: 2017, lost to West Virginia in the first round.
Season Stats
Team Scoring: 81.1 points per game, 47.2 fg pct, 34.3 3-pt pct, 71.8 ft pct.
Top Scorers: Zach Thomas 20.3; Nana Foulland 15.4; Stephen Brown 14.9.
Rebounds: Thomas 9.2; Foulland 7.1; Avg team margin (plus-1.6).
Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.15): Brown (4.3/1.7), 147 assists.
Last 10 Games: 9-1.
Best Win: 81-77 at home to Vermont on Dec. 2.
Worst Loss: 92-89 at Lehigh on Feb. 5.
The Skinny: The Bison won the Patriot League by four games and after a bit of a challenge in the league tournament opener, earned their second straight berth with 31- and 29-point wins. Thomas was the regular-season MVP and Brown the tourney MVP.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
