Not too long ago, I wrote about the possibility of Michigan State facing a former Spartan in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. It was a long-shot, but it was still possible with how all of the seeding in shaping up.
Michigan State was projected a 2/3 seed at the time of that and Tre Holloman was playing for a team that could have potentially been a 6/7 seed. That would have set up a potential round two matchup if the Wolfpack took care of the lower seed in round one and if the Spartans also avoided a major upset. Since then, the Spartans dropped to a 4-seed and rose back to a 2-seed while the Wolfpack have kind of plummeted.
At the time, I believed that Michigan State had a real shot of facing Holloman (and I do even more now).
There was also the possibility of UCLA getting anywhere from the 6-10 range, seeding wise. That means that Xavier Booker, too, could be in the mix.
There’s also a small chance that the Spartans could see Gehrig Normand and Santa Clara. Normand hasn’t seen the court much this season due to injury, but his team is projected to be somewhere in the 10/11 seed range. That could also set up a second-round showdown with Michigan State.
One prominent bracketologist predicted one of those scenarios and the recent slump by NC State has led to the Wolfpack being projected as a 10-seed in the same region as 2-seed Michigan State.
The first bracket forecast of MARCH from @tsnmike is here! 🙌
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 3, 2026
What do you think of the latest seeding? pic.twitter.com/AhNXbBYLAq
That might just be every Michigan State fan’s nightmare scenario.
A Michigan State vs. NC State matchup would be a lose-lose
This would feel a lot like that first-round game against Davidson a few years ago when Foster Loyer was leading the way for the Wildcats. They thankfully came up just short against the Spartans, but the game was incredibly unenjoyable considering Michigan State was expected to win so it wasn’t a huge deal when it did, but if it had lost to Loyer, there was no coming back.
That would be the same situation, but amplified here.
NC State would be playing with nothing to lose as a 10-seed that just came off a win over a 7-seed in round one. Michigan State would be a 2-seed with Final Four expectations and Holloman could spoil all of that for his former teammates and friends.
The chances of this happening are increasing by the day, in my opinion.