Michigan State basketball advanced to the Round of 32 after beating Bryant on Friday night, 87-62. The Spartans dominated the second half after a slow start and they're now in a position to make the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.
But it won't be easy against New Mexico.
The Lobos are 27-7 after a successful regular season and first-round "upset" of No. 7 seed Marquette. New Mexico is not a pushover, by any means, so the Spartans will need to step up and lock down the talented Lobo roster.
If you don't know a single thing about this Round of 32 opponent, that's what I'm here for. Here are three things you need to know about the Lobos.
1. New Mexico has the Mountain West Player of the Year
New Mexico has one of the best guards in the country in Donovan Dent who just won the 2025 Mountain West Player of the Year award after averaging 20.6 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting about 49 percent from the floor and 41 percent from deep.
The Spartan guards will have their hands full with this junior guard from New Mexico, but they are some of the best defenders in the Big Ten so I'm sure we'll see a lot of Jaden Akins on him as well as some Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tre Holloman.
Stopping Dent is the key to beating New Mexico.
2. New Mexico is top-30 nationally in 2 major categories
New Mexico does a lot of things well, but the Lobos do two things particularly well.
The Lobos are No. 27 in the country in rebounds per game, averaging nearly 40 an outing and they're also No. 29 in points per game at 81.1. Being elite in those two categories means that the Lobos are going to give the Spartans quite the test because they, too, rebound at a high level, and average around 80 points per game.
Defense will be the difference on Sunday night. And Michigan State has a better one.
3. A familiar face on the other bench
Richard Pitino may sound like a familiar name and that's because it is. The son of St. John's head coach Rick Pitino was in the Big Ten for almost a decade as he was the head coach of Minnesota from 2013-2021 and Tom Izzo saw him 12 times during that span.
In fact, the Hall of Famer is 9-3 against Pitino and he's looking for win No. 10 on Sunday night.
This is probably the second or third-best Michigan State team that Pitino has faced and he didn't fare well against the other elite ones like the 2019 Spartans who beat him in the regular season as well as the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The last time Izzo saw Pitino in the second round with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line, he beat his Gophers by 20 before fighting his way to a Final Four. Let's hope we see the same thing this time.