The Spartans fell short on two of their goals for the 2003-04 season - winning the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament Championship - but there still is the chance of reaching one goal: a Final Four.

And as unlikely as it might seem, the Spartans are serious.

MSU received a No. 7 seed in the St. Louis region of the NCAA Tournament and will play 10th-seeded Nevada on Thursday in Seattle.

"We said each kind of a step for us is a new season," senior center Jason Andreas said. "It's a new season for us - we have another chance to redeem ourselves. Hopefully, we get down to business. Another goal of ours was to get to the Final Four, and that's what we're going to work on doing."

There is no arguing the Spartans (18-11) are prepared for this year's tournament. The nonconference schedule some called sadistic featured five tournament teams. Add in the other two Big Ten teams invited to the Big Dance, and MSU has played a total of eight games against tourney-bound squads.

Both Duke and Kentucky received No. 1 seeds, Kansas got a No. 4, Syracuse received a No. 5 and DePaul, the only team in the RPI Top 50 that MSU defeated, was seeded seventh. The Big Ten's other two teams, Illinois and Wisconsin, received No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, respectively.

"Whether we can take advantage of it, we'll see," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "It looks like it helped us more than I thought. A seven seed for us; I think we've proven we can play with a lot of people. I think it's fair and I think we deserved it."

Andreas agreed with his coach, saying the Spartans have played great teams, good teams and average teams, so no one in the tournament should surprise them.

"We're not afraid to play anybody," Andreas said. "It doesn't matter who we play, we know we'll be prepared."

Izzo said prior to the selection show that whatever number was put in front of his team's name wouldn't matter.

"I'm happy with our seed - I told you I would be -?and I thought we could be anywhere from seven, eight, nine, 10, so seven is great," he said.

If the Spartans beat Nevada, they would face either No. 2 seed Gonzaga or No. 15 seed Valparaiso on Saturday.

A second-round matchup against Gonzaga would be particularly intriguing because former MSU head coach Jud Heathcote is a Washington resident and known Gonzaga fan.

For Thursday's game, MSU was allocated 350 tickets, which already are accounted for, and elected to buy 200 more for public sale. Those tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today and will be distributed based on donor level and alumni status. The tickets cost $50 and can be purchased by calling 1-(800) GO-STATE. The site for the game, home to the Washington Huskies, is sold out.