Michigan State basketball takes on USC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
Michigan State enters this matchup as the No. 7 seed with a 19-12 overall record on the year. The Spartans are coming off a disappointing loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament last week, and will hope to bounce back to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year.
USC is the No. 10 seed in the East Region, and holds a 22-10 record this season. The Trojans finished third in the Pac-12 this past year, but have dropped two of their last three games.
This first round matchup will take place in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of this game will face the winner of No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 15 seed Vermont in the second round on Sunday.
Broadcast and Streaming Info
Here’s when you should tune in to see this game between Michigan State and USC:
- Date: March 17, 2023
- Time: 12:15 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: CBS
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)
Three Things to Watch
Here are three things to watch out for in this matchup between Michigan State and USC:
Does MSU get good or bad A.J.?: The Spartans’ success in this matchup is heavily tied to the play of starting point guard A.J. Hoggard. He has served as the Spartans’ leader all season long and if he has a bad game, then generally Michigan State will lose. We saw that last week in the Big Ten Tournament and if he plays poorly again on Friday then there’s a strong chance Michigan State is heading home early.
Defending the three: Michigan State hasn’t been great defensively for quite some time now, but they’ll need to be better on Friday — especially in defending the three. That’s an area where the Trojans can light up the Spartans if they are failing to close out on shooters.
Dominating on the glass: Michigan State should have an advantage in the post — especially when it comes to rebounding. That hasn’t been the case often in Big Ten play this year, but that is a clear weakness of the Trojans and an area I’m looking for Michigan State to exploit on Friday.
Game Prediction
Prediction: MSU 81, USC 75
Both the Spartans and Trojans have been very inconsistent this year, but I’m expecting both teams to play their best ball in this NCAA Tournament matchup. If that happens, Michigan State’s ceiling is higher and will be the difference in a high-scoring fun battle to tip off Friday’s full slate of games.
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.
