Seven teams had been vying for a top four seed and a triple-bye in the 2026 Big Ten Tournament, but it’s starting to look more like five teams after Wednesday night.
Michigan State is fortunately one of those teams.
While winning a second straight Big Ten title would require a miracle (Michigan losing out and MSU winning out), there’s at least a solid chance that the Spartans could get that pass to the quarterfinals in the Big Ten Tournament, They just need to finish in that top four in the Big Ten standings. Right now, they’re tied for fourth with Purdue and that’s going to be settled on Thursday night.
Right behind the Spartans and Boilermakers was a surging Wisconsin team. Fortunately for them, Wisconsin lost to an 11-17 Oregon team on Wednesday night, shocking just about everyone.
After a second loss in the past week to an inferior opponent, Wisconsin is now 11-6 in the Big Ten and in a distant sixth place tie with UCLA. Thanks to the Ducks’ upset of Greg Gard and the Badgers, Michigan State finds itself in a good place to potentially finish in the top four. They just have to finish better than Nebraska, Illinois, or Purdue.
Anything is possible at this point.
Michigan State needs to finish better than 2-2
There are three tough games remaining, and Rutgers. Although I shouldn’t be quick to look past the Scarlet Knights seeing as they almost beat Michigan State in Piscataway, I’m going to for the sake of looking at the toughness of the other three opponents.
Michigan State has to go to Purdue, Indiana, and Michigan to close the year, which is just an absolute gauntlet of a finish. A year ago, the Spartans faced an even tougher stretch and found a way to be perfect. If Michigan State goes 4-0 somehow, not only will the Spartans be in that 2-seed conversation, but they’ll likely be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Going 2-2 or worse is the absolute worst-case scenario. In that case, Michigan State gets a 5-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, at best, and likely a 4/5-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Can’t have a 2-2 or 1-3 finish to the season.