Michigan State Basketball: 5 reasons Spartans deserve a No. 1 seed
4. Strength of schedule
One of the most considered stats when it comes to seeding by the selection committee is strength of schedule. Michigan State is currently ranked differently by a number of sites that compare strength of schedule, but CBS has the Spartans at No. 22 while teamrankings.com has them has high as No. 4.
If you go by CBS’ rankings, the Spartans have had a tougher schedule than Gonzaga and Tennessee, who are both looking for 1-seeds, while sitting slightly lower than Virginia and Kentucky. Duke and North Carolina are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
If you go by the teamrankings numbers, Michigan State is behind only Duke, North Carolina and Virginia and that’s because the ACC was extremely top-heavy.
Michigan State has played Michigan twice (soon to be three times), Wisconsin twice, Ohio State three times, Purdue twice, Iowa twice, at Florida, at Louisville, Texas and Kansas. The Spartans’ record in those games (minus Sunday’s impending title game vs. Michigan) is 12-3. Not too shabby.
The strength of schedule is helping the Spartans’ case.