Michigan State basketball takes on Kansas State in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Spartans are riding high entering this matchup, with a pair of impressive wins in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State used strong defensive efforts to knock off No. 10 seed USC in the first round and No. 2 seed Marquette in the second round.
Kansas State is also feeling good about itself after strong showings in its first- and second-round matchups last weekend. The Wildcats knocked off No. 14 seed Montana State and followed with a victory over No. 6 seed Kentucky in a back-and-forth battle.
This matchup will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The winner advances to the Elite Eight. The winner of Michigan State-Kansas State will face either No. 4 seed Tennessee or No. 9 seed FAU in the Elite Eight on Saturday.
Broadcast and Streaming Info
Here’s when you should tune in to see this game between Michigan State and Kansas State:
- Date: March 19, 2023
- Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: TBS
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)
Three Things to Watch
Here are three things to watch out for in this matchup between Michigan State and Kansas State:
Tyson Walker vs. Markquis Nowell: A pair of stellar guards from the state of New York will lead the Spartans and Wildcats on Thursday. For Michigan State, that’s Tyson Walker. For Kansas State, it’s Markquis Nowell. Walker is averaging 17.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament and Nowell is averaging 22 points and 11.5 assists per game in the tournament. Both of these guys should have big performances on Thursday again, and whoever plays better could indicate who is moving on.
Defending Keyontae Johnson: The other big-time scorer for Kansas State is forward Keyontae Johnson. He is the Wildcats’ leading scorer at more than 17 points per game this year, and there are a few different guys the Spartans could throw at him defensively to slow him. My guess is we will see a mixture of Malik Hall, A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins matching up with Johnson, who is listed at 6-foot-5.
Hitting 3s like we are used to seeing: The most amazing thing about the Spartans being in the Sweet 16 right now, is they did it without shooting the ball well from outside. The Spartans were 7-for-30 — 23.3% — from 3-point range in their first two games of the NCAA Tournament. They still found ways to win (a lot of credit is to their defensive play). I have a feeling we are going to see the Spartans break out of that poor shooting funk on Thursday, and that would bode well for them reaching the Elite Eight.
Game Prediction
Prediction: MSU 75, Kansas State 71
This is going to be a fun matchup to watch. These two teams are very similar and the winner will most likely come down to who gets a better performance from its star guards. Right now, I’m not going against what Michigan State has in the backcourt — and I also think they’ll finally turn it on with their outside shooting. Michigan State moves on to the Elite Eight.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.
