NCAA Tournament March Madness
#12 Michigan St
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Projected seed: 3
Michigan State’s body of work is shaped by a handful of high-profile moments and one damaging loss; neutral-site wins over Kentucky and North Carolina and a solid victory over Arkansas show the Spartans can collect resume-building scalps, while a home loss to Duke underscores how offensive lapses can blunt an otherwise stingy defense. That defense has been the program’s foundation and has helped them win key neutral and home tests, but inconsistent offense makes true road success the litmus test. The rest of the schedule offers multiple routine chances to pad the resume against conference opponents alongside several brutal road exams at Nebraska, Washington and Oregon and pivotal league trips to Purdue and Michigan that will decide whether the defensive identity is enough to carry them into the tournament.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | Colgate | 161 | W80-69 |
| 11/8 | Arkansas | 29 | W69-66 |
| 11/13 | San Jose St | 184 | W79-60 |
| 11/18 | (N)Kentucky | 20 | W83-66 |
| 11/21 | Detroit | 297 | W84-56 |
| 11/25 | (N)East Carolina | 293 | W89-56 |
| 11/27 | (N)North Carolina | 24 | W74-58 |
| 12/2 | Iowa | 22 | W71-52 |
| 12/6 | Duke | 4 | L66-60 |
| 12/13 | @Penn St | 110 | 85% |
| 12/16 | Toledo | 153 | 97% |
| 12/20 | (N)Oakland | 145 | 95% |
| 12/29 | Cornell | 167 | 98% |
| 1/2 | @Nebraska | 27 | 55% |
| 1/5 | USC | 35 | 79% |
| 1/8 | Northwestern | 61 | 87% |
| 1/13 | Indiana | 21 | 73% |
| 1/17 | @Washington | 48 | 67% |
| 1/20 | @Oregon | 91 | 80% |
| 1/24 | Maryland | 96 | 93% |
| 1/27 | @Rutgers | 135 | 89% |
| 1/30 | Michigan | 1 | 36% |
| 2/4 | @Minnesota | 115 | 86% |
| 2/7 | Illinois | 9 | 59% |
| 2/13 | @Wisconsin | 38 | 61% |
| 2/17 | UCLA | 31 | 77% |
| 2/22 | Ohio St | 36 | 79% |
| 2/26 | @Purdue | 5 | 31% |
| 3/1 | @Indiana | 21 | 52% |
| 3/5 | Rutgers | 135 | 96% |
| 3/8 | @Michigan | 1 | 18% |