Michigan State knows the NCAA Tournament drill more than many programs.
The third-seeded Spartans are preparing for their NCAA record-tying 28th consecutive March Madness with Thursday’s East Region first-round matchup against No. 14 North Dakota State in Buffalo, N.Y.
For seniors Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler, that means one final opportunity to put everything together. The veteran duo feels ready.
“I think both of us are playing our best basketball, so it’s understanding how we can impact winning, how we can impact it now at the highest stage,” Cooper said. “During the year, I think we’ve kind of showed our highs and lows and now we can really kind of unleash our full potential, our team’s full potential and, hopefully, play flawless basketball.”
Michigan State (25-7) has lost two straight while North Dakota State (27-7) enters on a four-game winning streak. The Bison earned the Summit League regular- season and tournament championships.
Balance has helped both teams navigate to this point in the season.
For the Spartans, point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (15.7) leads the way, followed by the frontcourt of Kohler (12.7), Coen Carr (11.6) and Cooper (10.8).
Damari Wheeler-Thomas paces North Dakota State at 14.4 points a game, followed by Trevian Carson (12.0), Markhi Strickland (11.8) and Treyson Anderson (10.4).
Strickland, a Western Michigan transfer, has taken to heart a message from his father, Mark, who helped Temple to an Elite Eight appearance in the early 1990s before playing in the NBA.
“He just said live in the moment,” Markhi Strickland said. “Don’t think about anything else besides the moment and that’s what I’ve been doing. We talked about the possibility at the Summit tournament in Sioux Falls (S.D.) and he just said, ‘Go show up and show out.’ “
While Thursday marks the first meeting between Michigan State and North Dakota State, at least one Bison player can channel memories of the Spartans beyond this week’s film study.
North Dakota State forward Noah Feddersen, who grew up in Menomonie, Wis., recalls attending a Michigan State at Wisconsin game when he was about 11. It was the first Division I game he watched in person.
“It will be fun to play against a program that I saw growing up,” Feddersen said. “Growing up, watched a lot of March Madness. Now to see North Dakota State up there and to be with this team is definitely special.”
Spartans coach Tom Izzo has cautioned players to “not take anything for granted,” a lesson that re-emerged during last week’s Big Ten tournament in Chicago.
Also a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, the Spartans struggled to match the urgency of sixth-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals Friday. Sparked by Fears Jr. (21 points, 13 assists), the Spartans nearly erased a 15-point deficit with 15:11 left before losing 88-84.
“It teaches you that if you aren’t on top of your game, that one-and-done syndrome is a reality,” Izzo said. “During the year, there is no one and done. It might be one and done that you don’t win the league championship, but it’s not one and done that you’re going home. And so, I think that kind of helped open some eyes of our young and new guys.”
