Thursday’s Michigan State vs North Dakota State game kicks off the 2026 NCAA Tournament for Tom Izzo and the Spartans. They’ve been gearing up all season for this run, and while the Spartans are shorthanded, they’re more than ready for the moment.
Fortunately, the Spartans are a veteran-led squad with four key third and fourth-year players leading the way. That usually bodes well for teams in the NCAA Tournament. Veteran teams usually make it pretty far as opposed to squads with mostly freshmen who have never played an NCAA Tournament game before.
This is Izzo’s favorite time of the year and it’s also going to be an opportunity for him to prove himself once again. Everyone is overlooking the Spartans, but they could realistically come out of the East Region.
They have to win on Thursday evening first, though. North Dakota State is coached well and it won the Summit League with relative ease.
Vegas expects a Spartan win, but it might be closer than expected.
Final betting odds for Michigan State vs North Dakota State
The line opened up at around 16.5 points in favor of the Spartans and that’s where it’s hovered over the past 24 hours, or so. Vegas believes in a Michigan State win, but maybe not necessarily a blowout like we all expect.
Odds via DraftKings as of Thursday, March 19
Line: Michigan State -16.5
Over/Under: 143.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -1800 | North Dakota State +1000
If you think this is going to be one of the upsets of round one, you could make a pretty penny, but I doubt any Michigan State fans will be betting on that unless it’s an emotional hedge.
The Spartans are going to get off to a bit of a slower start before heating up and taking a modest least into halftime. They’ll extend on that lead in the second half with several crowd-wowing alley-oops to Coen Carr and Carson Cooper. The Spartans are going to cruise in the second half of this one after a battle in the first 20 minutes.
Jeremy Fears and Jaxon Kohler both finish with double-doubles in the win.
Prediction: North Dakota State 60, MIchigan State 81