March Madness 2024 got its first wardrobe malfunction.
Guard A.J. Hoggard of No. 9-seeded Michigan State began the team’s 69-51 first-round win over No. 8 Mississippi State Thursday afternoon at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte with his shorts on backward.
It was obvious on the broadcast, as his jersey’s trim did not match or line up with his shorts.
Hoggard was quickly made aware of his error and subsequently put them on the right way.
He was able to laugh about it after the game.
“You know what’s crazy? I forgot,” Hoggard told reporters. “I didn’t know. I got dressed at the hotel, I was super excited — 9:45 [a.m.], just up getting dressed, listening to music. I started playing the game and I came to media, someone told me my shorts are on backwards.
“I never knew. I didn’t know until [Steven Izzo] told me, so I appreciate [Izzo] for coming through in the clutch. I’m about to go viral for that.”
Hoggard finished with eight points, eight assists, two rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes of action.
Beyond making Hoggard aware of his shorts, Izzo, head coach Tom Izzo’s son, received rare playing time in garbage time with the Spartans up big.
He even recorded an assist in one minute of action and dribbled the ball out to close the game.
Izzo had only appeared in eight games this year prior to his cameo Thursday.
“I thought this was one of the better first game performances of a team that was, and deservedly so, seeded a little lower,” Tom Izzo said after the game of Mississippi State. “We brought everything from the get-go. We moved the ball well. We shot the ball well. We rebounded the ball.”
Michigan State will face No. 1 North Carolina in the second round.