As we enter the final week of the regular season, the Big Ten standings begin holding a lot more weight outside of just the Big Ten champs. Michigan State may not be repeating, but it will likely be receiving a double-bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament with the win over Indiana.
Entering Sunday’s game in Bloomington, Michigan State was sitting alone in third place in the Big Ten standings and in need of a win to lock up a top-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
The top four seed is important because that would give Michigan State a triple-bye.
Michigan State needed to beat Purdue on Thursday night at Mackey to be in control of its own destiny in terms of Big Ten Tournament seeding. It took care of the Boilermakers at Mackey for the first time since 2014 and then it traveled down the road to Bloomington to face an Indiana team that the Spartans had only beaten twice in the past decade.
The Spartans’ win over Indiana at Assembly Hall completed a two-game stretch of wins at Indiana and Purdue that Michigan State hasn’t done in the same season since 2013-14.
Tom Izzo had his guys ready to go at Indiana and they took an early lead and never looked back.
Sunday’s win was one of the more complete victories this season.
Michigan State will likely get that triple-bye
The top four teams in the Big Ten will get a triple-bye, meaning that they won’t have to play until the quarterfinals. That’s huge for Michigan State’s Big Ten Tournament title hopes.
It also means that Michigan State will get more favorable matchups in the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan State is currently projected as the 3-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, meaning they would earn a quarterfinal matchup against either Wisconsin, Oregon, or USC. In that scenario, I would bet that Michigan State earns a rematch with Wisconsin. The Spartans probably want that rematch especially after getting dominated by the Badgers in Madison a couple of weeks ago.
Hats off to Izzo and the Spartans for remaining focused on the road and picking up a clutch win to lock up a top four seed in the Big Ten Tournament and likely a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.