Tom Izzo, Michigan State Beat North Dakota State, Updated Path to Final Four in March Madness

Michigan State is heading to the second round of the NCAA men's tournament for the fifth year in a row.

The third-seeded Spartans cruised to a 92-67 victory over 14th-seeded North Dakota State in Thursday's first-round game in the East Regional. They are now three wins away from reaching the Final Four and will face No. 6 Louisville in the second round on Saturday as they attempt to navigate their path:

Michigan State used a balanced scoring attack with four different players scoring in double figures. It will surely be more reliant on its main options in later rounds, but everyone got in on the action Thursday.

Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with seven points, 11 assists and two rebounds, while Carson Cooper added 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Coen Carr tallied 17 points and four boards on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.

Damari Wheeler-Thomas led the way for the Bison with 16 points, but it was nowhere near enough to upset the Big Ten powerhouse.

The Spartans have national title aspirations, so anything less than a dominant win over North Dakota State would be seen as a disappointment and not the type of tone Tom Izzo's team was looking to set out of the gates.

Still, the Bison entered with momentum after going 17-2 in their previous 19 games to finish the season. The stretch included a victory over North Dakota in the Summit League championship game.

However, going up against Michigan State was a different story.

The Spartans left little doubt about the outcome and jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead with Cooper pouring in shots and getting to the free-throw line. While Fears is the team's leading scorer, he took more of a facilitating role in the first half to get everyone else involved.

That could be beneficial as the tournament continues, as opposing defenses will surely be focused on stopping the guard in the later rounds. That will put the pressure on his teammates to deliver, and they did just that Thursday.

The second half was nothing more than a formality as Michigan State rotated in some depth and kept the Bison at bay. Its defense overwhelmed North Dakota State's outside shooters and prevented the type of three-point shooting that could have set the stage for a comeback.

Michigan State will surely be tested in the later rounds, but Thursday was just the type of straightforward win it was looking for when the bracket was revealed.