It’s going to be a tough task, but a 2-seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament is still very much in play for Michigan State as it enters the final three-game stretch of the regular season.
The Spartans took care of their second-biggest task over the final four games, beating Purdue in West Lafayette which was something they hadn’t done in 12 years. The next task is beating Indiana at Assembly Hall which is not quite as difficult as Mackey, but that place is hostile any time Michigan State is in the building.
If Michigan State can win in Bloomington, it’ll host Rutgers for what should be a nice confidence-booster before the season finale in Ann Arbor.
A win against Rutgers would set up a showdown in Ann Arbor with Michigan State sitting at 25-5 with wins over North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Purdue, and Illinois and an opportunity to beat arguably the nation’s second-best team on their home floor.
Obviously that’s a tall task, but if Michigan State can beat Indiana on Sunday, it’ll likely move into the top 10 in the NCAA’s next bracket projection and it’ll be very much in play for a 2-seed.
It sounds ridiculous because we’ve been spoon-fed the notion that the Spartans are locked in to either a 3-seed or a 4-seed. That’s not the case seeing as Michigan State could finish the regular season 26-5 with wins over Michigan, Illinois, and Purdue which are three of the top four teams in the conference — Michigan State is in that top four.
If that’s the case, in what world is Michigan State not a 2-seed?
The Spartans would have added two more Quad 1 wins to the resume, and one Quad 1A win, and they’d finish the season 9-5 in those games against Quad 1 opponents.
With nine Quad 1 wins and (hopefully) no Quads 2-4 losses, how can a 26-5 Michigan State team not be considered in that 2-seed range? That could raise the Spartans to second-most in the Big Ten and in the top five nationally. Again, how is that not 2-seed status?
There’s an easy case to make for Michigan State as a 2-seed if it wins out, or even if it wins at Indiana and loses at Michigan, given the Spartans make the Big Ten Tournament semifinals or title game.