Looking at MSU's NCAA Tournament History

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Dominic Minchella | Last updated Mar 21, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Michigan State Spartans enter the NCAA Tournament once again as they add to their historic streak, set to go up against their opponents, the Bryant Bulldogs, for the first meeting ever between the two programs. If one program knows anything about the NCAA Tournament, it's MSU.

MSU enters its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament, which is the second-longest current streak out of all participants in college basketball. Coach Tom Izzo has also been there for it all as he continues his MSU legacy, taking the program back to the tournament.

The Spartans enter the tournament as Big Ten regular season champions, winning 27 games while only dropping six. The Bulldogs are no team to shrug at however, as the program is coming off of American East regular season champions while also winning the tournament as well.

Over the years, the Spartans have found a ton of success. Going into the game against Bryant, MSU holds an overall NCAA Tournament record of 73-36. It also marks the program's 38th trip to the tournament in the history of MSU basketball.

While the program has a ton of history in the tournament, the Spartans have only hauled in two national championships. The first came in 1979, while the second came in 2000. The current Spartans would love nothing more than to hoist up the NCAA Championship trophy once again, but it's going to take some work.

MSU might only hold two championships out of the past tournaments, but the program has had nothing but success. Over the years, the Spartans have the sixth most Final Four appearances out of all programs that have competed, earning themselves ten trips, most recently in 2019.

Down the stretch of the 2024-25 season for the Spartans, they saw a new emerging threat in freshman guard Jase Richardson. While senior Jaden Akins does lead the program in average points scored per game, it wouldn't be shocking to see MSU lean on the talents of Richardson.

After collecting their highest win total since the 2018-19 season, the Spartans will look to repeat history in how far they can get in the tournament but create more history by earning a third national title.

This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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