“Looking back, you see that both teams have grown since that moment,” MSU head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof said.

The Big Ten Conference will be well represented in the NCAA Tournament, with four of seven teams receiving bids. Michigan, Iowa and Penn State will all be joining the Spartans on the road to the ultimate victory.

“It speaks very well for the (Big Ten) that so many teams will be participating. We’re just glad to be a part of it,” van de Kerkhof said.

Normally, the NCAA tries to give the higher seeded team the home-field advantage. Unfortunately for the favored Deacons, it did not work out that way — the game will be played just down the highway in Ann Arbor.

The Spartans are excited to play in Michigan after being on the road four weekends in a row. Van de Kerkhof said the team is looking to capitalize on the home state advantage as well as the cold weather against the Deacons, whose home state is North Carolina.

“I’d like to believe that (the team) remembers that game and that we did not play our best (against Wake Forest). That should be excellent motivation to prepare them and to practice hard,” van de Kerkhof said.

In addition to the team’s accomplishment of receiving a bid, van de Kerkhof feels a sense of personal accomplishment as well.

“It’s my second year as a head coach and this is what you work for,” he said. “Last year … we just fell short of receiving a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“Making it your second year as head coach in a Big Ten Conference setting is something you dream about.”

In their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004, the Spartans lost 5-1 in the semi-final round to Duke.

Game one will take place at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, at Phyllis Ocker Field in Ann Arbor. If the Spartans defeat the Deacons, they will face the winner of the Michigan vs. Ohio matchup at 2 p.m., Sunday.