Prominent Big Ten analyst doesn’t believe Michigan State is a Final Four team

Michigan State was one win away from a program record start to a season, losing to No. 3 Michigan after coming back from down 16 at the half to take a two-point lead only to run out of gas. The Spartans were talked about as a legit national title contender before that loss.

Now? We have experts saying that a top-10 Tom Izzo-coached team can’t make a Final Four.

All it took was a loss to the No. 3 team in the country and a follow-up letdown game on the road against a sub-.500 Big Ten team for the nation’s most respected college basketball analysts to flip on Michigan State and say that the Spartans aren’t a Final Four team.

Andy Katz talked about who he thinks can get to the Final Four from the Big Ten, and his answer was actually mind-numbingly frustrating.

Michigan and Illinois were the two teams that Katz pegged as the Big Ten’s Final Four contenders, which is disrespectful to the team that just beat the Illini. So Illinois can make the Final Four and deserves a ton of respect because it lost to Michigan State in overtime and then dropped a home game to Wisconsin but the Spartans don’t get any for beating the Illini after their own two-game skid?

That doesn’t make much sense.

Also, how can a team that showed that it can keep up with both of the teams he mentioned and beat either one on any given night not have the pieces to make it past those teams on the way to a Final Four? It makes zero sense but that’s going to be the narrative until Michigan State proves them wrong.

I’ve seen this Michigan State hoops story before

You’re not a true Michigan State fan if you’re not used to constantly being overlooked by the national media.

Just last year, everyone turned their backs on the Spartans after a late-January, early-February skid which concluded with a home loss to a mediocre Indiana team only to watch Michigan State secure several Quad 1 wins in a row, picking up ranked win after ranked win. That led to the Spartans earning a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament and making the Elite Eight against Auburn.

This year, the Spartans have a similar chance to prove people wrong. A freshman is emerging (Jordan Scott this year, Jase Richardson last year), the point guard is elite, the Spartans are fighting for position in the Big Ten standings, and they can almost control their own destiny by stringing together some big wins, starting with Wisconsin on Friday.

There’s a lot to be excited about.