Jump ahead to the main content
The NCAA Tournament will witness Michigan State’s men’s basketball team facing off against a familiar opponent in their opening game.
The No. 7 seed in the West Region belongs to the Spartans, who are set to face off against No. 10 Davidson, where former Spartan Foster Loyer now plays.
How to watch Michigan State vs. Davidson
In Greenville, S.C., a highly-anticipated NCAA Tournament Round of 64 game is set between Michigan State and Davidson.
Friday on CBS, the game is scheduled to tip off at 9:40 p.m.
Despite the Spartans being favored initially, oddsmakers predict a closely contested game. Davidson will enjoy a slight homecourt advantage as the game takes place in the Carolinas.
Former Spartan Loyer leading Davidson
After enjoying a remarkable high school career in Clarkston, Michigan, Foster Loyer decided to join Michigan State. However, he has recently emerged as a standout player since transferring to Davidson during the last offseason.
This season, Loyer has emerged as the leading scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 16.6 points and 3.3 assists per game. Standing at 6 feet tall, the junior has showcased his shooting prowess by hitting an impressive 45% from beyond the arc. Prior to joining the Wildcats, Loyer faced challenges in obtaining regular playing time during his three seasons with the Spartans.
Despite being the regular season Atlantic-10 champion, Davidson suffered a defeat in the conference title game on Sunday against Richmond.
The Wildcats concluded the year with an impressive 27-6 overall record, including a remarkable 15-3 in league play. Throughout the season, they faced formidable Quad 1 opponents, maintaining a balanced 2-2 record against them. Their most notable victory outside of conference play was when they triumphed over Alabama.
Loyer’s guard, Hyungjung Lee, has an average of 16.3 points per game, while their 6-10 forward, Luka Brajkovic, is scoring 14.3 points and securing 7.1 rebounds per game.
Michigan State looks to build off Big Ten Tournament momentum
Despite not finishing the regular season strongly, the Spartans demonstrated a commendable performance in the Big Ten Tournament, managing to reach the semifinals before ultimately losing to Purdue.
Michigan State had a record of 22 wins and 12 losses throughout the year, including 11 wins and 9 losses in the Big Ten. The team performed well with a record of 5 wins and 9 losses against Quad 1 teams, but excelled even more with 8 wins and 2 losses against Quad 2 teams. This impressive performance can be attributed to their challenging nonconference schedule, which was considered one of the most difficult in the nation.
This season, Gabe Brown spearheaded a remarkably well-rounded scoring performance for the Spartans, although his 11.4 points per game reveal the absence of a definitive scoring leader on the team. Max Christie (9.5), Malik Hall (9.4), Marcus Bingham (9.2), and Tyson Walker (8.1) contribute to this equilibrium. Notably, a total of eight Spartans maintain an average of over 6 points per game.
Caesars Sportsbook offering promotion
Caeasars Sportsbook MI has introduced an exclusive offer for individuals who make a standard, pregame spread bet of $100 or higher on this specific game.
No matter what the result of your bet is, you will be rewarded with $3 worth of free bets for every point your team scores beyond 64. These free bets will be added to your account within 48 hours and must be used within seven days of being granted.
Participating in both sides of the spread is not allowed in this promotion.
