Preview: MSU's Big Ten Quarterfinal vs. UCLA

Sixth-seeded UCLA took down No. 14 seed Rutgers, 72-59, on Thursday night for the right to face MSU, which has enjoyed a triple-bye to the quarterfinals. The winner of this game will face either second-seeded Nebraska or No. 7 Purdue. Those two teams play before Michigan State, with Spartans-Bruins being the fourth game of the day at the United Center.

MSU might need to win at least one more game to secure a 2 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. UCLA is being projected to be about an 8 seed at the moment. Here are all the details on how you can watch:

TV Info

Tip-Off: approximately 9 p.m. ET (25 minutes after conclusion of Nebraska-Purdue)

Channel: Big Ten Network

Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play); Robbie Hummel (analyst); Andy Katz (sideline)

Radio Info - Spartan Media Network

Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM), WJIM (1240 AM)

Detroit: WJR (760 AM)

Grand Rapids: WBFX (101.3 FM)

Other radio stations from around the state of Michigan can be found RIGHT HERE.

SiriusXM: Channel 83 or on the SiriusXM app.

Announcers: Will Tieman (play-by-play); Matt Steigenga (color analyst); Zach Surdenik (host)

First MSU-UCLA Meeting

The lone regular-season meeting between these two teams was not close. Michigan State went on a 31-5 run during the first half, led by 20 at halftime, and ultimately won, 82-59, back on Feb. 17 at the Breslin Center.

It probably won't be quite as easy this time. A big reason for the rout was MSU's 14-for-27 (51.9%) mark from three. That's the season-high for made threes for the Spartans this year, and would also be the case for the two seasons before that.

UCLA has also been playing well since that point. With the Bruins' win on Thursday, they've gone 5-1 since their loss to the Spartans that day. That has included victories over current AP No. 9 Illinois and No. 11 Nebraska, two of the other teams that have enjoyed triple-byes to the quarterfinals.

This is Michigan State's 28th time reaching at least the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament in 29 seasons (including the cancelled 2020 tourney, where the Spartans would have gotten a bye there). MSU has the most Big Ten Tournament titles at six, but is seeking its first such championship since 2019.