Getty
The Michigan State Spartans are taking on the USC Trojans in the first round of the 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Friday.
The game (12:15 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on CBS, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream on Amazon Prime, Paramount+, FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which all come with a free trial.
Here’s a full guide on the different ways to you can watch a live stream of USC vs Michigan State online for free:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch a live stream of their local CBS station via the Prime Paramount+ channel (“Premium” plan). You can try both Amazon Prime and the Paramount+ Channel at no cost with a free trial right here:
Once you’re signed up for the Prime Paramount+ Channel, you can watch USC vs Michigan State live on the Amazon Video app or Amazon website.
Compatible devices for the Amazon Video app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Paramount+
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch on Paramount’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s. You can watch your local CBS channel live via Paramount+ (“Premium” plan), which comes with a free trial:
Once signed up for Paramount+, you can watch USC vs Michigan State live on the Paramount+ app or Paramount+ website.
Compatible devices for the Paramount+ app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of CBS and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch USC vs Michigan State live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” CBS is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch USC vs Michigan State live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
USC vs Michigan State Preview
The 7-seed Michigan State Spartns are two-point favorites over the 10-seed USC Trojans in their first-round game on March 17. The over/under is set at 137.5 due to the fact that it will probably be a defensive battle.
Michigan State’s defensive efficiency ranking is 40th and USC’s is 48th. If the Spartans can stifle USC’s leading scorer guard Boogie Ellis, they should be able to come away with a win, especially if the Spartans are hitting 3-pointers. They rank fourth in the nation in 3-point percentage at nearly 40 percent.
You also have to factor in longtime MSU coach Tom Izzo’s postseason experience. With the Spartans getting into the 2023 field of 68, he became the first coach in history to make 25 consecutive NCAA tournaments, topping Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski’s record of 24 that was set from 1996 to 2019.
“It means the world to me,” Izzo said in a statement after MSU received their bid to the Big Dance this year. “It means I had a lot of good players. It means I had a lot of good staff. It means I had a lot of good fans. You don’t win games over a period of time because of what you do, you win games because of a collection of people doing their job.”
He continued, “I think what anybody looks for in anything in life is can you sustain success, can you be consistent? And if you’re consistent, there’s going to be a little bit of ebbs and flows and ups and downs. But consistency where you never really fall off, are you in contention to do something? Do you have a chance? That’s kind of what I’ve built it on, that’s kind of what I’ve wanted to do.”
Incidentally, Kansas holds the record for the longest streak of NCAA bids at 33 years, but it is split between coaches Roy Williams and Bill Self. North Carolina is second with 27 straight tournaments under three different coaches.
In his pre-game press conference about the USC match-up, Izzo said that the tournament is always a highlight for him.
“It’s always an exciting part of the year. The tournament, for me, has been one of the highlights in my life, much less my coaching career, so I’m glad that it’s here. I’m glad that we’re close to home,” said Izzo, adding, “We didn’t start off March as well as I hoped with the Big Ten tournament, but at the same time, learned some things, hopefully, got them corrected.”
The Michigan State vs USC game tips off on Friday, March 17 at 12:15 p.m. Eastern on CBS.