NCAA Tournament March Madness

#9 Michigan St

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Projected seed: 2

Michigan State’s resume reads like a classic committee case because it pairs headline victories with a handful of damaging setbacks, and that mix explains why it sits near the top rather than at the very top. The Spartans have delivered their best work against top opposition, earning neutral-court wins over Kentucky and North Carolina, a true road victory at Purdue, and statement home wins over Arkansas and UCLA, which show they can win big both away from home and on neutral floors. Those marquee moments are offset by troubling losses, including the defeat at Duke, the losses to Michigan, an ugly trip to Wisconsin, and the puzzling outing at Nebraska, so the bad results temper the resume. What will matter next is a strong showing in the conference tournament and another clean neutral-site result to reinforce the quality wins and erase the lingering doubts.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3Colgate249W80-69
11/8Arkansas15W69-66
11/13San Jose St225W79-60
11/18(N)Kentucky28W83-66
11/21Detroit217W84-56
11/25(N)East Carolina254W89-56
11/27(N)North Carolina29W74-58
12/2Iowa25W71-52
12/6Duke1L66-60
12/13@Penn St138W76-72
12/16Toledo131W92-69
12/20(N)Oakland169W79-70
12/29Cornell164W114-97
1/2@Nebraska14L58-56
1/5USC80W80-51
1/8Northwestern57W76-66
1/13Indiana46W81-60
1/17@Washington53W80-63
1/20@Oregon99W68-52
1/24Maryland120W91-48
1/27@Rutgers124W88-79
1/30Michigan3L83-71
2/4@Minnesota77L76-73
2/7Illinois7W85-82
2/13@Wisconsin22L92-71
2/17UCLA27W82-59
2/22Ohio St26W66-60
2/26@Purdue8W76-74
3/1@Indiana46W77-64
3/5Rutgers124W91-87
3/8@Michigan3L90-80
3/13(N)UCLA27L88-84