Winston Scores 26, Michigan State Pulls Away from Bradley, 76-65 MSU Official
No. 2 seed Michigan State used a 9-0 run late in the second half to open up an eight-point lead as the Spartans pulled away for a 76-65 win over No. 15 seed Bradley in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena Thursday afternoon.
Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State’s dicey NCAA tournament win over Bradley Lansing State Journal
1. You could feel the pressure on MSU – and it just about sent the Spartans home
2. Freshman thoughts – the Bradley edition
3. MSU’s path to the Sweet 16 just took an unexpected turn
Michigan State basketball survives to beat Bradley, 76-65, in NCAA tournament Detroit Free Press
For the second time in four NCAA tournaments, Michigan State basketball found itself in a dogfight as a 2-seed. This time, it was East Region 15-seed Bradley making critical plays and draining momentum-swinging 3-pointers to push to the brink of a titanic upset. But like Tom Izzo’s team did all season, the Spartans summoned up a scoring stretch through their fatigue and found a way to win.
No panic: Bradley puts Michigan State on upset alert but Spartans survive Detroit News
There’s no doubt that Michigan State fans — those at Wells Fargo Arena and certainly thousands more watching on television — were starting to have flashbacks on Thursday afternoon. The Spartans, the No. 2 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, were in a dogfight with No. 15 Bradley and memories of three years ago — Michigan State’s first-round loss to Middle Tennessee State — were, no doubt, starting to take a grip on the Spartans faithful.
Michigan State escapes opening round with win over Bradley
Feeling the pressure yet? Michigan State sure did in the first round as Bradley was giving it all it could handle, taking the Spartans down to the wire before the game was ultimately capped off with a free throw contest.
Michigan State survives first round scare against Bradley The Only Colors
For the better part of 40 minutes, it was impossible to avoid flashbacks to 2016. However, the Michigan State Spartans did just enough to get by the Bradley Braves in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Throughout the game, the lead swung back and forth. Both teams held and lost leads of at least six points. But a gutsy game out of Cassius Winston, who was not playing his best, helped the Spartans to a 76-65 win in Des Moines.
MSU dodges upset-minded Bradley in NCAA Tournament opener Spartan Tailgate
The collective exhale from everyone affiliated with Michigan State was big enough to set off a tornado watch. It almost happened again. Three years after being upset by No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee State, the Spartans played a dangerously close game against 15th-seeded Bradley Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Amid ghosts of Middle Tennessee State, Michigan State writes different ending vs. Bradley mlive.com
As Michigan State’s first-round result from three years ago was creeping into the heads of Michigan State fans across the country, Spartans senior guard Matt McQuaid admitted it crept into his head, too. As a hot-shooting mid-major tested his team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, he tried to push out those thoughts of No. 15 Middle Tennessee State 90, No. 2 Michigan State 81.