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One week from now, it all will be moot.
All of the number-crunching analytics. All of the talking-head prognostication. All replaced by seedings and brackets and destinations to decide the NCAA Tournament field of 68 en route to Indianapolis in early April.
And for Tom Izzo, a path to get Michigan State basketball back to another Final Four.
The eighth-ranked Spartans (25-6, 15-5 Big Ten) pushed closer to a potential 2-seed in what will be Izzo’s 28th straight NCAA berth. The pairings will be released Sunday, March 15, after the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.
That kicks off Tuesday at United Center in Chicago. MSU, which finished in a three-way tie for second (with Nebraska and Illinois), earned the No. 3 seed and a triple-bye. The Spartans open play Friday around 9:30 p.m. ET against Thursday’s night winner between No. 6 seed UCLA and the Wednesday’s 11-seed Minnesota/14-seed Rutgers winner.
MSU would need three wins in three days to win Izzo’s seventh Big Ten Tournament title. But the Spartans’ strong finish, with five wins in their last six, and the struggles of others battling for NCAA seeding likely has them locked into a 2-seed for when the brackets are revealed.
All rankings entering Sunday’s games.
All rankings entering Monday’s games.
March 5: 91-87 home win over Rutgers – The Spartans led by 15 with 1:15 left when Izzo inserted an all-seniors lineup for, well, senior night. It nearly came unraveled as the Scarlet Knights hit their final nine shots to get within two points, while Izzo reinserted his starters. But Jeremy Fears Jr. iced the victory with two free throws and a steal in the final seconds to preserve MSU’s 14th consecutive senior-game victory.
March 8: 90-80 road loss at No. 3 Michigan – In an epic rivalry renewal to wrap up the regular season, MSU and U-M traded runs and technical fouls for a feisty first 30 minutes. The Spartans led by four with just under 13 minutes to play when the Wolverines went on an 11-0 run and never ceded the lead the rest of the way. Fears had 22 points and nine assists, passing Mateen Cleaves for second on MSU’s single-season assist list and is now 10 shy of Cassius Winston’s record of 291 set in 2018-19.
Record: The team's overall record, conference record, and non-conference record.
Strength of schedule: The strength of the teams the team played against.
Head-to-head results: The results of games between the teams being compared.
Conference championships: The number of conference championships won.
Common opponents: The results of games against common opponents.
Adjusted Net Efficiency (NET): A measure of a team's overall performance during the regular season.
Team Value Index: A results-oriented component of the NET that ranks teams based on who they beat and where they played.
Rating Percentage Index (RPI): A computer program that calculates a team's winning percentage, opponents' success, and opponents' strength of schedule.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball bracketology for NCAA Tournament 2026, seed
Continue reading...
All of the number-crunching analytics. All of the talking-head prognostication. All replaced by seedings and brackets and destinations to decide the NCAA Tournament field of 68 en route to Indianapolis in early April.
And for Tom Izzo, a path to get Michigan State basketball back to another Final Four.
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The eighth-ranked Spartans (25-6, 15-5 Big Ten) pushed closer to a potential 2-seed in what will be Izzo’s 28th straight NCAA berth. The pairings will be released Sunday, March 15, after the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.
That kicks off Tuesday at United Center in Chicago. MSU, which finished in a three-way tie for second (with Nebraska and Illinois), earned the No. 3 seed and a triple-bye. The Spartans open play Friday around 9:30 p.m. ET against Thursday’s night winner between No. 6 seed UCLA and the Wednesday’s 11-seed Minnesota/14-seed Rutgers winner.
MSU would need three wins in three days to win Izzo’s seventh Big Ten Tournament title. But the Spartans’ strong finish, with five wins in their last six, and the struggles of others battling for NCAA seeding likely has them locked into a 2-seed for when the brackets are revealed.
Michigan State basketball schedule this week
- Friday: vs. TBD, approximately 9 p.m, Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal
- Saturday: vs TBD, 3:30 p.m., Big Ten Tournament semifinal.
- Sunday: vs TBD, 3:30 p.m., Big Ten Tournament final.
Michigan State basketball bracketology for 2026 NCAA Tournament
NET rankings: No. 11 (Last week: No. 11)
All rankings entering Sunday’s games.
- Quad 1: 9-5.
- Quad 2: 5-0.
- Quad 3: 7-0.
- Quad 4: 4-0.
KenPom rankings: No. 9 (began last week No. 9)
All rankings entering Monday’s games.
- Offensive efficiency: No. 27
- Defensive efficiency: No. 8
Michigan State basketball bracketology projections
- USA TODAY: 2-seed in East vs. Wright State (updated March 7).
- ESPN: 2-seed in East vs. Tennessee State (updated March 8).
- CBS: 2-seed in West vs. Portland State (updated March 8).
- Fox Sports: 2-seed in West vs. Wright State (updated March 6).
- On3: 2-seed in West vs. Merrimack (updated March 8).
- BracketMatrix.com: 2-seed (updated March 8).
Michigan State basketball results last week
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March 5: 91-87 home win over Rutgers – The Spartans led by 15 with 1:15 left when Izzo inserted an all-seniors lineup for, well, senior night. It nearly came unraveled as the Scarlet Knights hit their final nine shots to get within two points, while Izzo reinserted his starters. But Jeremy Fears Jr. iced the victory with two free throws and a steal in the final seconds to preserve MSU’s 14th consecutive senior-game victory.
You must be registered for see images attach
March 8: 90-80 road loss at No. 3 Michigan – In an epic rivalry renewal to wrap up the regular season, MSU and U-M traded runs and technical fouls for a feisty first 30 minutes. The Spartans led by four with just under 13 minutes to play when the Wolverines went on an 11-0 run and never ceded the lead the rest of the way. Fears had 22 points and nine assists, passing Mateen Cleaves for second on MSU’s single-season assist list and is now 10 shy of Cassius Winston’s record of 291 set in 2018-19.
How NCAA tournament committee selects at-large teams
Record: The team's overall record, conference record, and non-conference record.
Strength of schedule: The strength of the teams the team played against.
Head-to-head results: The results of games between the teams being compared.
Conference championships: The number of conference championships won.
Common opponents: The results of games against common opponents.
Adjusted Net Efficiency (NET): A measure of a team's overall performance during the regular season.
Team Value Index: A results-oriented component of the NET that ranks teams based on who they beat and where they played.
Rating Percentage Index (RPI): A computer program that calculates a team's winning percentage, opponents' success, and opponents' strength of schedule.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball bracketology for NCAA Tournament 2026, seed
Continue reading...
