March Madness Sweet 16: When do Michigan and Michigan State play?
DENVER, COLORADO - MARCH 22: The Michigan Wolverines celebrate after defeating the Texas A&M Aggies during the second round of the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Ball Arena on March 22, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Jamie
(FOX 2) - It was a good weekend for being a fan of college basketball in Michigan as both teams from the state that made the college basketball tournament won their first two games in the initial round.
Both U-M and MSU will play in the Sweet 16 with a chance of playing each other later in the week.
Big picture view:
The University of Michigan and Michigan State University both dispatched their opponents in the first two rounds of the tournament last week.
The Wolverines eked out a victory over UC San Diego before pulling ahead of Texas A&M in the Round of 32. Meanwhile, the Spartans took care of Bryant before outlasting New Mexico.
Both schools are in the South Division and will play next Friday.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 23: Jaden Akins #5 of the Michigan State Spartans dunks during the second round of the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 23, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/NCAA
Dig deeper:
Michigan has already beaten one higher seed when they beat 4-seed Texas A&M. There next challenge will be a little tougher - playing the tournament's top seed: the Auburn Tigers.
The SEC conference champions cruised into the second week and will find a different challenge in the Wolverines. Auburn is a 7.5-point favorite.
For Michigan State, they play the 6-seed Mississippi Rebels, who have already pulled out two victories against Iowa State and North Carolina. MSU is a 2.5-point favorite.
How to Watch:
Both teams will play at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Friday, March 28.
The games will be broadcasted on CBS.
MSU will play first at 7:09 p.m. while UM is scheduled to play at 9:39 p.m.
What's at stake:
If both teams can win, then it will come down to a Spartan-Wolverine match for a ticket to the Final Four.
Rarely do the stakes rise so high that an in-state, inter-conference rivalry headlines one of the four games of the Elite Eight round. But the opportunity is there - but only if both teams can seize it.
The Source: ESPN and previous reporting.