Two Important Developments from Spartans' Win over NDSU

BUFFALO, N.Y. --- Michigan State played like a team that knew the stakes on Thursday.

The third-seeded Spartans easily swept aside (14) North Dakota State, 92-69, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center. They'll face sixth-seeded Louisville in the second round on Saturday.

Michigan State's Coen Carr watches a free throw go up during a game against North Dakota State during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Everything should be taken with a grain of salt or two, since the road only gets much tougher from here, but MSU showed strengths in some areas that seemed like weaknesses in the victory over the Bison. That could mean good things moving forward in March Madness.

Here's what stood out:

Bench Scoring

Michigan State's Cam Ward blocks a North Dakota State shot during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

One big unknown entering the tournament was whether MSU would get enough production from its bench to string together some wins. So far, so good. The Spartans got 30 points from their bench on Thursday from multiple different sources.

Cam Ward had the biggest day among the non-starters. He scored 13 points while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Trey Fort also gave some solid minutes, scoring seven points. Even Denham Wojcik got a bit involved as a scorer. He scored four points in the first half, making multiple shots for the first time this season (he entered Thursday with four made field goals all season).

Michigan State's Denham Wojcik moves the ball against North Dakota State during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

That depth is going to be important against (6) Louisville on Saturday, as the Cardinals can pretty solidly go eight or nine men deep, even with the injury to star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. UL got 22 points from its bench during its 83-79 win over (11) South Florida in the first round.

Better Three-Point Defense

Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. readies to defend against North Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

One thing MSU really needed to show as well was better perimeter defense. North Dakota State, a team that can really shoot it on the right night, didn't have much success from deep on Thursday. The Bison went just 6-for-25 (24%) from deep, tied their lowest percentage in any game since New Year's.

This was an issue entering the tournament, and it feels especially so, given who is next. During Michigan State's last five games against Big Ten foes (regular season or tournament), the Spartans allowed at least 10 made threes each time, with those opponents combining to shoot 43.3% from deep.

That had to end there. The Cardinals shoot a ton of threes --- like, a lot. Louisville entered Thursday ranked eighth nationally in three-point attempts per game (32.3) and sixth in made threes per contest (11.5). Its perimeter shooting is why it beat USF on Thursday, with UL going 13-for-25 (52%) from deep.

It helped for Louisville that Isaac McKneely got hot. He went 7-for-10 from three by himself and ended up scoring a game-high 23 points. He's one of many Cardinals who will see the court who are a threat from deep, though.