Michigan State Spartans face North Dakota State Bison in opening round of NCAA Tournament

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North Dakota State Bison (27-7, 17-2 Summit League) vs. Michigan State Spartans (25-7, 15-6 Big Ten)

Buffalo, New York; Thursday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Spartans -15.5; over/under is 143.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 11 Michigan State plays in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against North Dakota State.

The Spartans have gone 15-6 against Big Ten teams, with a 10-1 record in non-conference play. Michigan State ranks fifth in college basketball with 18.5 assists per game. Jeremy Fears Jr. leads the Spartans averaging 9.2.

The Bison's record in Summit League play is 17-2. North Dakota State ranks second in the Summit League shooting 36.5% from 3-point range.

Michigan State makes 47.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.3 percentage points higher than North Dakota State has allowed to its opponents (43.8%). North Dakota State averages 12.3 more points per game (80.7) than Michigan State allows to opponents (68.4).

TOP PERFORMERS: Jaxon Kohler is averaging 12.7 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Spartans. Fears is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games.

Damari Wheeler-Thomas is shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Bison, while averaging 14.4 points. Noah Feddersen is averaging 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 6-4, averaging 78.5 points, 33.8 rebounds, 18.1 assists, 3.9 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.2 points per game.

Bison: 8-2, averaging 79.3 points, 33.9 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.