Michigan State basketball time, TV channel set for Sweet 16

Mar 23, 2026 - 03:45

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Michigan State basketball time, TV channel set for Sweet 16

Michigan State basketball doesn't know its opponent for the Sweet 16 in the 2026 NCAA Tournament – yet – after beating Louisville in the second round, 77-69, on Saturday, March 21.

But the 3-seed Spartans know they will play the 2-seed Connecticut Huskies or 7-seed UCLA Bruins in the East Regional semifinal on Friday, March 27, at Capital One Arena in Washington.

They also know they'll be playing at 9:45 p.m. on CBS, with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the broadcast team.

UConn played UCLA, who just a few weeks ago looked like it was on the NCAA Tournament bubble, on Sunday, March 22. The Spartans were sitting at home comfortably watching the game after beating the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon, giving MSU a rest advantage.

Tom Izzo and Dan Hurley have faced off just one time in their careers, not counting the exhibition in Hartford, Connecticut that Hurley's squad came out on top in this past fall. The only official game was during the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas in November 2021, which the Spartans won, 64-60.

A Michigan State-UCLA matchup would be a rematch of a game that happened just over a week ago. The Spartans drew the Bruins in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and Mick Cronin's team shocked the Spartans, 88-84, thanks to a dominant effort from guard Donovan Dent, who is playing now through an ankle injury.

The winners of the Sweet 16 game in D.C. will play the winner of the Duke/St. John's game on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Michigan State is 4-4 all-time against UConn, according to Basketball Reference, with the last game being the Battle 4 Atlantis matchup. Michigan State is just 5-9 all-time against UCLA, with a win and a loss this year against the Bruins.

Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor for the Free Press. Contact him via email at abirkle@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball TV channel, time set for Sweet 16