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Michigan State Basketball: 3 ideal 2021 NCAA Tournament first-round matchups

By Connor Muldowney

Mar 11, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Rocket Watts (2) controls the ball against the Maryland Terrapins in the first half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Rocket Watts (2) controls the ball against the Maryland Terrapins in the first half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 27, 2021; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jaden Springer (11) brings the ball down court against the Auburn Tigers during the second half at Auburn Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2021; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jaden Springer (11) brings the ball down court against the Auburn Tigers during the second half at Auburn Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Tennessee Volunteers (17-7, entering Friday)

The SEC is one heck of a football conference and if the basketball side of the league was just as good, it would probably win a national title every year.

But that’s just not the case.

SEC basketball is just not very good. The best team is Alabama by about a mile and then following behind the Crimson Tide are the Arkansas Razorbacks. Neither team has looked unbeatable this year but both are going to earn top-four seeds, more than likely.

Shockingly, LSU is the third team in the SEC standings after an average year and Tennessee is right behind them after a 17-7 finish to the regular season and 10-7 record in conference play. Rick Barnes has this program trending in the right direction and Tennessee has been a force in the SEC for a while now, but they haven’t gotten any better over the course of the season.

In fact, after a 10-1 start to the year, the Vols are 7-6 and look very pedestrian. They beat Kansas out of conference (before the Jayhawks caught fire) and took down a ranked Missouri team, but they don’t have another ranked win (unless you count Arkansas before it was ranked).

Tennessee’s leading scorer averages just 12.4 points per game and they don’t have a particularly potent offense (shooting 44 percent from the floor and 33 percent from deep).

The Volunteers are a projected No. 6 seed and they’re 4-4 away from home. This would be one physical matchup and that favors MSU.

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