Michigan State dominated North Dakota State on Thursday evening, beating the 14th-seeded Bison 92-67. This was one of the least stressful first-round games for Michigan State in years, blowing the doors off the Bison after somewhat of a slow start.
The Spartans didn’t have much trouble with North Dakota State, putting the Bison away in the first half, and a lot of the success that Michigan State had was due to elite passing.
In fact, that elite passing led to a broken program record for the Spartans.
Michigan State finished with a whopping 26 assists on 33 made field goals which is impressive in itself, but that number is actually a program record for assists in an NCAA Tournament game, per Ben Shockley who caught up with Tom Izzo after the win.
"We're always willing to sacrifice a shot for your brother."
— Ben Shockley (@BenShockley_) March 19, 2026
Michigan State had 26 assists in its First Round win over NDSU, setting a new program record for assists in an NCAA Tournament game.
Full Interviews: https://t.co/tXB4nhonOh@wilxTV pic.twitter.com/YkwtDdEAqy
Ball movement is something that Izzo preaches and when it’s on, there aren’t many teams that can beat Michigan State. The Spartans were led by Jeremy Fears Jr. who had 11 assists but Trey Fort, Kur Teng, Carson Cooper, Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler, and Jordan Scott all had at least two assists each.
Every single player that saw more than eight minutes of action had at least two assists, other than Cam Ward, but that’s not exactly his game. He finished with 13 points and a rebound.
Izzo said that his team is always willing to ”sacrifice a shot for your brother”.
That’s how you win in March. Well, that and great defense. Michigan State had both.
Michigan State’s offense played one of its best games
The offense did pretty much whatever it wanted all evening, scoring 92 points, shooting 59 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three, and making 16-of-18 from the charity stripe. On top of that, the offense finished with 26 assists on 33 made field goals. Four different players scored in double figures and both Fort and Fears were close.
I’m not going to assume the offense continues to look this competent moving forward, but if it continues to play like this for five more games, MIchigan State will be cutting the nets down in Indianapolis.
There’s a long way to go, but this was a great start. Michigan State had one of its best offensive games of the season.