One of those, of course, was MSU, which was stunned by Middle Tennessee in 2016. Perhaps even more worrisome: A 15-seed has pulled off the giant upset in three of the past four years, with only last year’s tourney seeing all four 2-seeds make the second round.

Coen Carr had 18 points and nine rebounds, and second-seeded Michigan State rolled to a 87-62 victory over No. 15 seed Bryant in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Madness picks, predictions, odds for Bryant vs Michigan State first-round South Region game on Friday, March 21, 2025. Who wins?

Talk about the history of college basketball and it won’t take long for two names to come up: Izzo and Pitino. Tom Izzo has been at Michigan State since 1995, long enough that none of the players on his roster have lived in a basketball world where he wasn’t the Spartans’ head coach.

In a marvelous opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the Big Ten, Michigan State basketball survived a tough game against Bryant on Friday, and moves on to play under-seeded New Mexico in the Round of 32.

Tom Izzo didn't hold back on the Pitino family when asked about the second round matchup against Richard Pitino.