Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Basketball inexplicably projected as No. 11 team in top-16

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 10: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers in the second half at Breslin Center on February 10, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 10: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers in the second half at Breslin Center on February 10, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The NCAA Tournament committee released its first top-16 on Sunday afternoon and Michigan State basketball was inexplicably labeled the No. 11 team.

The top-16 is here and Michigan State basketball can’t feel great about where the committee sees the Spartans. After picking up a major win over the No. 3 team in the country, the No. 4 Spartans are apparently listed as the 11th-best overall team in the top-16 projections.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for February

This is a relatively new projection process that the committee has started doing and it just shows how they value teams, regardless of overall ranking. The Spartans are expected to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 on Monday afternoon, but you’d never know it by looking at these projections.

Yes, you’ve read that correctly, Michigan State is No. 11 overall in the top-16.

https://twitter.com/SBNation/status/962743890284556288

Now that you’re done laughing hysterically, let’s break down what exactly is wrong with this list of the top-four seeds in each region.

First of all, Purdue is still a 1-seed after losing to Ohio State and Michigan State in back-to-back games. Second, Xavier is a 1-seed and its best win this season was at home against Cincinnati — that’s the only ranked team they’ve beaten that’s still in the rankings in Week 14. Third, Virginia is No. 1 overall after losing at home to Virginia Tech.

Fourth, Cincinnati is a 2-seed ahead of MSU and the Bearcats haven’t beaten a ranked team all season — their best win is against an average UCLA team. Fifth, Kansas has been as mediocre as it gets for a Bill Self-coached team and it has reached four losses in conference play faster than ever under the head coach. Sixth, Auburn plays in an incredibly weak SEC and just lost at home to Texas A&M — best wins this year are Tennessee and Arkansas.

Lastly, Clemson and Texas Tech being ranked ahead of Michigan State is laughable. The committee must not have watched the Spartans’ win over their projected 1-seed Boilermakers.

Let’s break down the best wins of all teams projected to be seeded ahead of Michigan State compared to the Spartans’ best wins:

  • Virginia (1): North Carolina, Clemson, at Duke
  • Villanova (2): Tennessee, Gonzaga, Xavier
  • Xavier (3): Cincinnati, Creighton, at Seton Hall
  • Purdue (4): Arizona, Michigan x2
  • Auburn (5): Middle Tennessee, at Tennessee, Arkansas
  • Kansas (6): Kentucky, at West Virginia, TCU x2
  • Duke (7): Michigan State, at Miami, Florida, Florida State
  • Cincinnati (8): at UCLA, Houston
  • Clemson (9): at Ohio State, Miami, North Carolina
  • Texas Tech (10): Nevada, at Kansas, at TCU

Tell me how many teams have better wins than Michigan State who beat a top-10 Notre Dame team (which has since fallen off with the Bonzie Colson injury), a top-10 North Carolina team and No. 3 Purdue? They also beat a tough Nebraska team by 29 points, won at Maryland and beat likely NCAA Tournament invitee Penn State.

Next: MSU Basketball: 5 takeaways from win over No. 3 Purdue

The committee dropped the ball on this one, but it seems like they’re in this more to make controversial projections than anything else.

Home/Spartans Basketball