No. 2 seed Michigan State (28-6) will face No. 10 seed New Mexico (27-7) in the Round of 32 on Sunday night in Cleveland. The Spartans, aiming for their second Sweet 16 in three seasons, face a Lobos program that hasn’t advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in over four decades.

Coached by Richard Pitino, son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, New Mexico — which upset No. 7 seed Marquette 75-66 Friday — won the Mountain West outright at 17-3 and bring a balanced yet dangerous attack spearheaded by junior guard Donovan Dent, who averaged 20.6 points per game during the regular season en route to earning the conference’s player of the year award. 

"This whole tournament is about matchups more than it is about who’s the best team," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said during a press conference Saturday. "Sometimes you just don’t match up with certain teams, and it causes problems, no matter what their seed is."

Senior forward Nelly Junior Joseph, a consistent double-double threat, averages 14.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. 6-foot-6 guards Tru Washington and CJ Noland give New Mexico’s two-man game a supporting cast capable of exploiting matchup problems for opponents. 

"It doesn’t matter who you watch (New Mexico) against, they’ve been a damn good team, and they’ve won consistently," Izzo said. "You look at the NFL and you get a quarterback, you got a chance. They got a quarterback, and he’s very good. (Dent) can score it, but he makes other people better."

MSU is one of just seven programs nationally to reach the NCAA Tournament’s second round in each of the past four seasons, making the Sweet 16 once (2023). The Spartans are 15-6 in Round of 32 games under Izzo, who is coaching in his 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament — the longest active streak in college basketball.

An 87-62 win over No. 15 seed Bryant offered the Spartans some reassurance on how they stack up against teams with less collective talent and depth. MSU trailed several times in the first half before sophomore Coen Carr’s 13-point burst stabilized things, and the Spartans dominated the second half with transition offense and offensive rebounding — finishing with a plus-25 margin on the glass. 

New Mexico plays quick and physical, led by Dent’s ball-dominance and Joseph’s interior presence. The Lobos thrive off turnovers and live at the rim, averaging 8.9 steals per game and scoring 21 points off of takeaways in their win over Marquette. 

Sunday’s matchup should test MSU’s ball security and ability to defend off the bounce. 

Izzo has often leaned on backcourt maturity in March, and the combination of Jeremy Fears Jr., Jase Richardson, Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman — who combined for 51 points Friday — will be under the spotlight. So too will the frontcourt’s ability to keep Joseph off the glass less than 48 hours after punishing Bryant in that category. 

"Us four, we know we have a tough task at hand, but we’re ready to handle it," Richardson said.

Tip-off between MSU and New Mexico is set for 8:40 p.m. on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage Arena in Cleveland. TNT will air the game. 

The winner will advance to the South Region semifinal in Atlanta.