MSU Women Set to Face North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women’s basketball returns to the NCAA Tournament. The No. 9-seeded Spartans will face No. 8-seeded North Carolina on Friday, March 22 at 11:30 a.m. at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck will be on the call for ESPN2.

• The Spartans come to Columbia with a 22-8 overall record after losing in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 8. The Tar Heels are 19-12 heading into the first round also falling in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.

• Overall, the Spartans are making their 19th overall trip to the “Big Dance.” MSU has made it to the NCAA Tournament in 16 of the last 21 completed seasons. MSU is 19-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

• Michigan State is making its second trip to Columbia, S.C. for the NCAA Tournament, also playing there in the 2017 First Round, when the Spartans were also the No. 9 seed, falling to No. 8 seed Arizona State, 73-61.

• The Spartans are fairly new to the NCAA Tournament with only three players having any NCAA experience. Graduate Tory Ozment has played in two NCAA games, while graduate Moira Joiner and graduate Julia Ayrault have both played in one game. 

• Theryn Hallock is only the second Spartan to earn Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year honors. All-American Kalisha Keane was voted Sixth Player of the Year during the 2009-10 season.

SPARTANS IN THE BIG DANCE

First-year head coach Robyn Fralick is the first-ever Michigan State women’s basketball head coach to lead the Spartans into the NCAA Tournament in their first season at the helm of the MSU program.

Michigan State enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-8 record, winning five of its last six and nine of its last 12 overall, falling in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals to Nebraska. The Spartans ended the regular season with 12-6 mark in Big Ten games, winning five in a row entering the postseason, and were the No. 4 seed in the B1G Tournament. This is the first time since the 2015-16 season that MSU has exceeded the 10-win mark in league play, finishing 13-5 that season. This is also the first time that Michigan State has surpassed 21 wins since the 2015-16 season. That year, the Spartans went 25-9, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

MSU is…