Carson Cooper matched his career high with 20 points along with 10 rebounds as No. 3 seed Michigan State earned an easy 92-67 victory over 14th seed North Dakota State in a first-round East Region matchup of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Buffalo, N.Y.
Coen Carr added 17 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 11 assists as the Spartans had 26 assists on 33 made field goals.
“I think this is what happens when you play with players for multiple years and stick with the same group and guys,” Fears said. “You build that chemistry, that bond. I know where Coop is going to be, Coop knows where I’m going to be. And I can throw it to Coop with my eyes closed, and I know he’ll catch it.”
Cameron Ward scored 13 points and Jaxon Kohler added 12 with nine rebounds for Michigan State (26-7), which rebounded from consecutive defeats against Big Ten Conference opponents to open its 28th consecutive NCAA Tournament with a win.
Michigan State shot 63.0% in the second half and 58.9% in the game to earn a second-round matchup Saturday against sixth-seeded Louisville.
“There weren’t many guys that didn’t play pretty well,” Spartans head coach Tom Izzo said. “… It’s amazing when shots go in, you feel a little better about yourself, and I think it helps your defense.”
Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 16 points and Trevian Carson added 11 points with seven rebounds and six assists as North Dakota State (27-8) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
Treyson Anderson scored 10 points for the Bison, who finished 44% from the floor. Wheeler-Thomas, who was named Summit League MVP, was held scoreless in the first half.
“Just got more in a little flow through the second half,” Wheeler-Thomas said. “And wish we started out like that. But we picked it up and we had fight in the second half, and that’s what we needed from the jump.”
North Dakota State was the Summit League regular-season and tournament champions.
The Bison had an 8-5 lead just over three minutes into the game before the Spartans took control with an 18-2 run for a 23-10 lead with 11:38 remaining in the first half. North Dakota State was held without a field goal for nearly six minutes in the stretch.
A separate 16-4 run late in the first half gave Michigan State a 41-21 lead and the Spartans were up 45-25 at halftime.
The Spartans’ dominance continued into the second half with Spears making a 3-pointer to give Michigan State a 61-33 lead with 15:12 remaining.
The Bison had a pair of 8-0 runs in the second half but never reduced their deficit below 17 points after halftime.
Michigan State improved to 22-5 under Izzo in Round of 64 games.
–Field Level Media
