Selection Sunday wasn’t as kind to Tom Izzo and Michigan State they would have hoped as the committee dropped the Spartans to a 3-seed and put them in the toughest region in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans lost their 2-seed to Purdue who won the Big Ten Tournament after a nightmarish end to the regular season, going 6-7 in the final 13 games before the conference tourney.
Michigan State is now the 3-seed in a region with Duke, UConn, Kansas, St. John’s, Louisville, and UCLA. The Spartans are on the same half of the bracket as UConn, Louisville, and UCLA.
The road to a potential Final Four isn’t going to be easy. Heck, a run to the Sweet 16 won’t be a walk in the park. Michigan State will face a 27-win North Dakota State team in the first round and then potentially a solid ACC contender in Louisville in round two. South Florida could very well beat Louisville, but assuming the favorite wins, that’ll set up a huge second-round showdown.
If Louisville and Michigan State both advance on Thursday, a potential Saturday matchup with the Cardinals could look a lot more favorable for the Spartans than originally expected.
A star Louisville player has been ruled out for the week.
Louisville will be without star guard Mikel Brown Jr. for their first round NCAA Tournament game against South Florida, the school announced.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) March 18, 2026
He will remain out the rest of the week if Louisville advances. https://t.co/3fx0UOyQ6E pic.twitter.com/KdE6j0Hhv8
Mikel Brown Jr. is out for Louisville’s first game against South Florida which could very well lead to an upset, but if the Cardinals do win, he’ll also be out for the winner of Michigan State vs. NDSU.
This is a major development.
Michigan State’s road to the Final Four just eased up — slightly
Before looking into the East Region and hearing experts say that they like Michigan State’s chances, I didn’t like the Spartans’ potential road to a Final Four.
I still don’t love it, but it’s looking a lot more manageable than it previously looked, especially after this injury to Brown Jr. who is averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting over 34 percent from three as a freshman. He’s been one of the best freshmen in the nation and he’s one half of an elite backcourt with Ryan Conwell.
My gut is telling me that South Florida beats Louisville, but the Cardinals obviously have more talent. This injury, however, changes things. I liked the upset pick before, and now I love it.
Either way, this injury is going to play a major role in MSU’s potential Final Four run.