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Free Press writer Jalen Williams breaks down Sunday's women's NCAA Tournament second -round game between No. 20-ranked Michigan State basketball and 10-ranked Oklahoma.
Matchup: 5-seed Michigan State (27-7, 11-7 Big Ten) vs 4-seed Oklahoma (25-7, 11-5 SEC)
Tipoff: 8 p.m. Sunday, March 22; Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma.
TV: ESPN.
Series: Tied at 1-1 since their first game in 2005. The Sooners beat the Spartans 66-55 their last time, on Dec. 16, 2007.
At stake: The winner will be headed to the Sweet 16 in Sacramento, California. There, they'll play the winner of Monday's game between 1-seed South Carolina and 9-seed USC.
The buzz: MSU's No. 5 seed is the Spartans' highest in three seasons under Fralick. Overall, it is Michigan State's highest tourney seed since 2016, when the Spartans were a No. 4 seed. The Spartans lost to NCAA 7-seed Illinois, 71-69, in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, falling out of the top 16 teams and losing the chance to host the first and second round games of the NCAA Tournament.
VanSlooten, a senior forward, and Blair, a redshirt sophomore guard, received second-team All-Big Ten nods from both the coaches and media. Jones, a junior guard, was named to the Big Ten's All-Defensive team by the media.
The 5-seed Spartans beat the 12-seed Colorado State Rams, 65-62, in the first round in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday.
The buzz: Coming off a loss in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal to No. 5 LSU, 112-78, the Sooners, which are the No. 3 scoring offense in the nation, left no doubt when they beat the No. 13 seed Idaho, 89-59, on Friday to open the NCAA Tournament. OU won seven straight games before falling to LSU.
Their offensive attack is mostly led by freshman Chavez, a former No. 1 overall recruit who was selected to an All-SEC team this year and averaged 18.4 points per game in the regular season. Beers, meanwhile, was named a third-team All-American.
Watch 2026 NCAA Tournament on Fubo
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected].
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State women's basketball vs Oklahoma March Madness game
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Fast facts
Matchup: 5-seed Michigan State (27-7, 11-7 Big Ten) vs 4-seed Oklahoma (25-7, 11-5 SEC)
Tipoff: 8 p.m. Sunday, March 22; Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma.
TV: ESPN.
Series: Tied at 1-1 since their first game in 2005. The Sooners beat the Spartans 66-55 their last time, on Dec. 16, 2007.
At stake: The winner will be headed to the Sweet 16 in Sacramento, California. There, they'll play the winner of Monday's game between 1-seed South Carolina and 9-seed USC.
Michigan State basketball: Meet the Spartans
- Location: East Lansing.
- Coach: Robyn Fralick (66-27 over three seasons at MSU; 154-100 career).
- School tournament record: 20-20 in 20 appearances.
- Past 10 games before the tournament: 4-6.
- Scoring leaders: Grace VanSlooten, 15 per game; Kennedy Blair, 14.4; Rashunda Jones, 11.8.
- Rebounding leaders: Blair, 7.1 per game; Vanslooten, 6.6; Inés Sotelo, 6.8.
- Assist leaders: Blair, 5.4 per game; Jones, 3.3; Theryn Hallock, 2.8.
- 3-point leaders: Amy Terrian, 45%; Emma Shumate, 42%; Marah Dysktra, 41.9%.
The buzz: MSU's No. 5 seed is the Spartans' highest in three seasons under Fralick. Overall, it is Michigan State's highest tourney seed since 2016, when the Spartans were a No. 4 seed. The Spartans lost to NCAA 7-seed Illinois, 71-69, in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, falling out of the top 16 teams and losing the chance to host the first and second round games of the NCAA Tournament.
VanSlooten, a senior forward, and Blair, a redshirt sophomore guard, received second-team All-Big Ten nods from both the coaches and media. Jones, a junior guard, was named to the Big Ten's All-Defensive team by the media.
The 5-seed Spartans beat the 12-seed Colorado State Rams, 65-62, in the first round in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday.
Oklahoma basketball: Meet the Sooners
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma.
- Coach: Jennie Baranczyk (126-41 over five seasons at Oklahoma; 318-137 in 14 seasons overall)
- School tournament record: 38-25 in 63 appearances.
- Past 10 games: 8-2.
- Scoring leaders: Aaliyah Chavez, 18.4 per game; Raegan Beers, 15.8; Sahara Williams,12.6.
- Rebounding leaders: Beers, 10 per game; Williams, 8; Payton Verhulst, 5.6.
- Assist leaders: Chavez, 4 per game; Williams 3.8; Verhulst, 3.1.
- 3-point leaders: Emma Tolan, 44.4%; Zya Vann, 34%; Caya Smith, 33.3%.
The buzz: Coming off a loss in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal to No. 5 LSU, 112-78, the Sooners, which are the No. 3 scoring offense in the nation, left no doubt when they beat the No. 13 seed Idaho, 89-59, on Friday to open the NCAA Tournament. OU won seven straight games before falling to LSU.
Their offensive attack is mostly led by freshman Chavez, a former No. 1 overall recruit who was selected to an All-SEC team this year and averaged 18.4 points per game in the regular season. Beers, meanwhile, was named a third-team All-American.
Watch 2026 NCAA Tournament on Fubo
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected].
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State women's basketball vs Oklahoma March Madness game
Continue reading...
