March 18th, 2017

Michigan State to tip off against Kansas at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday MLive
A marquee matchup in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament will tip off right around dinner time on Sunday. No. 9 seed Michigan State will face No. 1 seed Kansas at 5:15 p.m. EST on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla., in the second round of the tournament, it was announced early Saturday morning. A berth in the Sweet 16 will be on the line.

Michigan State-Kansas has Final Four pedigree, hometown feel CBS Sports
This is where Tom Izzo enters the scene. Where Michigan State enters the tournament. It really doesn’t matter if the Spartans are sporting their most losses and lowest seed in six years. Or let’s just say that it matters less than it would for most teams with 14 losses.

Kansas among 5 teams on second-round upset alert CBS Sports
The young Spartans turned a double-digit first half deficit into a 20-point win over Miami on Friday, and if that isn’t enough to have you considering picking Michigan State as a legit threat to KU in round two, then maybe this will: Tom Izzo has more wins with a lower-seeded team than any coach in NCAA Tournament history. That’s ahead of Rollie Massimino, Jim Boeheim and Lute Olson.

Michigan State looks like the March Spartans of old, and Kansas should be very, very afraid Land of 10
For 32 minutes, the Spartans (20-14) were the Spartans of old — or the March Spartans of old, at any rate, always two passes ahead, always first to the 50-50 balls, always in the right spot, out boarding Miami 36-23 as a team and running the 8 seed out of the gym. Is the genie out of the bottle for good? Or was an up-and-down roster in an up-and-down campaign teasing us again?

Miles Bridges, Michigan State get a shot at Josh Jackson and Kansas MLive
When Miles Bridges looks back on it, yes, he did — at one time — believe Josh Jackson was going to be a Michigan State Spartan. Jackson — the country’s top-ranked recruit — ultimately went to Kansas. A decision Bridges respected then and still does now. The two still talk quite a bit. Bridges — a blue-chip five-star recruit himself — said he thinks of Jackson as a brother. But when No. 9 Michigan State gets a crack at No. 1 Kansas on Sunday (5:15 p.m., CBS), all of that goes out the window.

Michigan State faces ex-top recruit Josh Jackson, Kansas, in NCAAs Detroit Free Press
They hoped he would become part of “The Class.” Instead, Josh Jackson is instead now “The Enemy.” It was a little more than a year ago that Miles Bridges and Cassius Winston sat beside Detroit native Jackson at Breslin Center, trying to lure their close friend to join them in East Lansing. Jackson eventually picked Kansas. And now, he’ll be “just another road block” for the Spartans and Bridges.

Get to know Kansas, Michigan State’s next NCAA Tournament opponent MLive
The last time Michigan State and Kansas squared off, it appeared to be an early-season preview for a potential marquee postseason matchup. That sequel never materialized last season but the Spartans and Jayhawks will square off in an elimination game on Sunday. No. 9 seed Michigan State and No. 1 seed Kansas will play at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday in a Midwest Regional second-round matchup in Tulsa, Okla.