MSU was awarded the No. 3 seed in a loaded East Region — with teams like Duke, UConn, Kansas and St. John's — for its opening matchup against No. 14 North Dakota State, a contest that led to a dominant 92-67 Spartan victory, with four players reaching double figures.

Next up was No. 6 Louisville, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. MSU led from the 15:35 mark of the first half onward in a 77-69 victory. Junior forward Coen Carr secured his first career double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. dished out 16 assists — a single-game MSU record — and set a Big Ten record for assists over a two-game NCAA Tournament span with 27.

Now the Spartans travel to Washington, D.C., for a Sweet 16 matchup against No. 2 UConn on Friday, with tip-off scheduled for 9:45 p.m. EST.

Hockey

MSU hockey is making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2006-08. The Spartans won the title in 2007. 

MSU secured the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament and is the No. 1 seed in the Worcester regional. The Spartans will face No. 14 overall UConn on Thursday, March 26, at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Like MSU, UConn is having a hockey revival. The team marked its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance last season. The Huskies are fresh off a 2-1 defeat by Merrimack in the Hockey East Tournament Championship. 

MSU’s most recent contest was its 3-2 overtime loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. This will be the first time head coach Adam Nightingale’s squad enters the NCAA Tournament following a loss.

Women’s basketball

MSU women's basketball entered the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, as head coach Robyn Fralick has led the program to an NCAA berth in each of her first three seasons.

The Spartans were given the No. 5 seed and took on No. 12 Colorado State in the first round, walking away with a 65-62 victory that came down to the last possession. MSU grounded out the win after an inefficient first half — shooting 34% from the field and heading into halftime down 29-27.

The same couldn't be said about Sunday's matchup against No. 4 Oklahoma. The Spartans played an efficient first half offensively, shooting 47% from the field and an impressive 56% from 3, scoring 42 points and taking a five-point lead into the break. But a third-quarter collapse eliminated MSU's Sweet 16 hopes in the final 20 minutes.

A Sweet 16 appearance would have been nice, but Fralick has continued to make strides each year in East Lansing, and with an experienced core returning, another leap forward next season seems well within reach.

Gymnastics

No. 11 MSU gymnastics impressed at the Big Ten Championships in Champaign, Illinois, finishing second to an unstoppable UCLA team.

The Spartans were the No. 4 seed and competed in the top set with the Bruins, Michigan and Minnesota. While MSU couldn’t overcome UCLA and Jordan Chiles, the team outperformed the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, with a score of 197.475 to finish as runners-up. 

A season-best performance on beam highlighted the growth this team has shown throughout the season and how much room it still has to grow as it looks to make a deep postseason run.

Wrestling

The MSU wrestling team saw its season conclude over the weekend after sending two athletes to the national championship.

Redshirt junior 197-pounder Kael Wisler and redshirt sophomore 149-pounder Clayton Jones concluded their trip to the opening night on Thursday after both going 0-2 and losing in the consolation bracket. 

Men’s tennis

No. 35 MSU men’s tennis went a perfect 3-0 on the road last week, taking down three Big Ten opponents. 

The Spartans upset No. 1 Ohio State 4-3 on Sunday, March 15, and stayed hot with a 4-1 win over Northwestern on Friday. 

The team rounded out the week with a 4-3 victory over No. 10 Illinois on Saturday.

Its next contest will be at home against USC on Friday, March 27, at 5 p.m. EST. 

Baseball

MSU baseball hosted its home opening series and marked its first Big Ten series win, too. 

The Spartans earned a 2-0 shutout in the series opener, took an emphatic 15-5 victory in the second game and fell 8-3 in the closing contest. 

The second-game victory also marked head coach Jake Boss Jr.'s 500th career-win, 475 of which have been at MSU. Coaching at MSU has been his dream job, he said after the game. 

The Spartans will continue Big Ten play against Purdue in a three-game series at home from March 27-29. 

Softball

No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers softball won all three games in a series against MSU softball in East Lansing from March 20-21. They relied on strong pitching and timely hitting to boost their record to 24-5 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten play. The Huskers have now won 13 games in a row.

MSU now shifts its attention to a road game against the Ohio State Buckeyes as the Spartans aim to recover in Big Ten play.

Women’s tennis

MSU women’s tennis hosted three games at its indoor tennis facility but went 0-3 on the week.

The Spartans fell to Nebraska (4-3), USC (4-0) and UCLA (4-1). They’ll hit the road to face Wisconsin on Friday, March 27. 

Track & Field

Both men’s and women’s track and field opened outdoor season this week.

The Spartan throwers were the stars of the show on Friday. 

Dillon Morlock took first place in the men’s shot put with a 20.07-meter throw, setting a new program record. Colby Morlock, Dillon’s brother, finished third in shot put. 

Dylan Terryberry finished third in men’s javelin, placing him sixth in MSU history with a 62.06-meter throw. Sean Mullen also finished fourth in the men's pole vault, vaulting 4.85 meter. 

On Saturday, Sophia Mettes finished third in the women’s pole vault with a 3.85-meter vault, just 0.17 meter shy of the all-time MSU top-10 list. 

Senior Brady Schultz placed second in the men’s high jump, jumping 2.15 meter for a fourth all-time MSU mark. 

Women’s golf

After a month without tournament play, MSU women's golf returned for the Briar's Creek Invitational March 16-17.

The Spartans shot an even-par 288 in the opening round, good enough for fifth place, tying their second-best opening round of the season. Senior Paula Balanzategui found herself in the top 10, sitting in ninth place after shooting a 2-under-par 70.

On Tuesday, the Spartans shot a 1-under 287, moving into third place and finishing the tournament at 1-under 575 — marking the program’s third under-par finish of the season. Balanzategui finished sixth at 3-under 141, while teammate and senior Taylor Kehoe placed 11th at 1-under 143.

Men’s golf

After three weeks since its last tournament, MSU men’s golf finally resumes play today at The Duck Invitational in Eugene, Oregon, at the Eugene Country Club.