NCAA Tournament March Madness

#7 Michigan St

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Projected seed: 2

Michigan State’s placement as a high seed is rooted in signature neutral-site wins over Kentucky and North Carolina and eye-opening road victories at Washington and Oregon that prove this team can win away from its home court. Those marquee moments, backed by a defense that regularly shuts opponents down, balance out a close loss to Duke that still showed they can hang with the elite. The upset defeat at Nebraska is a glaring blemish that prevents them from cracking the very top tier and the offense’s occasional inconsistency leaves some tight games in doubt. With pivotal opportunities remaining, including meetings with Michigan both at home and on the road and a road trip to Purdue plus other major conference tests, the Spartans can either solidify their standing or slide depending on how they perform away from home. That combination of big wins, one damaging loss, stout defense and meaningful remaining chances explains the current projection.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3Colgate204W80-69
11/8Arkansas22W69-66
11/13San Jose St255W79-60
11/18(N)Kentucky32W83-66
11/21Detroit284W84-56
11/25(N)East Carolina275W89-56
11/27(N)North Carolina28W74-58
12/2Iowa23W71-52
12/6Duke3L66-60
12/13@Penn St125W76-72
12/16Toledo156W92-69
12/20(N)Oakland121W79-70
12/29Cornell180W114-97
1/2@Nebraska11L58-56
1/5USC47W80-51
1/8Northwestern62W76-66
1/13Indiana31W81-60
1/17@Washington48W80-63
1/20@Oregon98W68-52
1/24Maryland122W91-48
1/27@Rutgers155W88-79
1/30Michigan249%
2/4@Minnesota8285%
2/7Illinois460%
2/13@Wisconsin4169%
2/17UCLA3985%
2/22Ohio St4085%
2/26@Purdue942%
3/1@Indiana3165%
3/5Rutgers15598%
3/8@Michigan228%