• No. 1/1 Michigan State begins NCAA Tournament play on Thursday in the Toledo regional against No. 4 seed Cornell. The Spartans are making their second consecutive and 29th NCAA Tournament appearance overall. MSU earned the Big Ten automatic bid after capturing the tournament title, but also shared the regular-season crown. This will be MSU’s first meeting all-time against Cornell in the NCAA Tournament, but the 11th game all-time between the schools. MSU owns a 6-4-0 mark against the Big Red. • At 26-6-4, MSU has tied its win total from a year ago. Michigan State became the first school in Big Ten history to win the league’s regular-season and tournament championship in the same season in back-to-back years. It was MSU’s ninth overall regular-season conference title in school history, and the third time MSU had done it in back-to-back years (1984-85 and 1985-86, and in 1988-89 and 1989-90 in the CCHA). • With two scores in four chances on Saturday, MSU’s power play is clicking at .245 on the season (23-94), which ranks 12th (second, B1G) nationally. The Spartans have limited opponents to 19 man-advantage goals in 109 chances against (.826), a penalty kill which is the best in the Big Ten and 18th nationally. The Spartans did not allow a power play goal in the Big Ten Tournament (5-for-5 on the kill), and over their last 12 games, the Spartans have extinguished 32 of 37 power play chances against (.865). Since Jan. 1, the Spartan PK is at .842 (48-of-57).
• Hobey Baker Top 10, Big Ten Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament Isaac Howard not only scored the game-winning goal in double overtime against No. 9 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game, but had two goals and two primary assists in MSU’s 4-3 victory, settled in the 96th minute of play. He has delivered 26 goals and 51 points in 36 games; he enters the NCAA tournament as the national leader in points per game (1.42), third in goals per game (0.72) and 24th in assists per game (0.69). He ranks third in goals and is tied for fourth in points among all Division I players.
• Trey Augustine is a finalist for the AAU Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete, as well as one of four finalists for the Mike Richter Award, the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, and a First Team All-Big Ten selection. He made 38 saves in a double-overtime victory over Ohio State in the B1G finals, and posted a 1.16 GAA and .949 save percentage in the Big Ten Tournament to earn All-Tournament Team honors. Augustine leads the Big Ten in wins (19, eighth NCAA), save percentage (.927, 10th NCAA), goals against average (2.01, 12th NCAA), and minutes played (1790:37), and is third in games played (29) and saves (761).
• Matt Basgall earned a spot on the B1G All-Tournament Team and earned All-Big Ten honors (first team) for the first time in his career. With 26 points, the junior is third on the team in scoring and is second to Howard on the team with 20 assists. He has matched or surpassed his single-season bests in goals (6), assists, and points. He is tied for second the team in power play points (11) and is second on the team in both power play goals (3) and in blocked shots (45).
