Saturday featured the first bracket reveal of the year and Michigan State came in as the 14th-best team, projected to be a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today.
However, the chaos that ensued after the top 16 teams were revealed has opened the door wide open for Michigan State to slide up to the 3-seed line as soon as Sunday with a win over Ohio State.
Michigan State was one of the four 4-seeds revealed along with Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, and Virginia, and with the Red Raiders losing their best player earlier this week, that might just wreck their chances of being ahead of the Spartans, especially after losing to Arizona State earlier this week. The committee locked Texas Tech into the 13th overall spot, but I don’t see them holding that with road games against Iowa State and BYU remaining.
The 3-seeds, however, may have slightly opened the door for Michigan State, as well as one 2-seed who fell via shocking upset.
The 3-seed door is now wide open
The 3-seeds in the first bracket reveal were Gonzaga, Kansas, Florida, and Nebraska, and it just feels like Michigan State will probably end up ahead of at least a couple of those teams. If the Spartans steal one against Michigan or Purdue to end the season, I can see the Spartans stealing a spot on at least the 3-line.
Kansas lost by 16 (!!) at home to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon and Gonzaga had a snoozer against a .500 team from the WCC.
Nebraska still has a West Coast trip approaching and Florida still needs to travel to Texas, face a scary Arkansas team, and it closes the season at Kentucky. I can see at least 1-2 losses by each team to close out the regular season.
Illinois also lost on Saturday evening in Los Angeles, blowing a 23-point lead to UCLA and falling at the buzzer on a coast-to-coast play by Donovan Dent. The Illini were the No. 7 team in the first bracket reveal and Purdue is No. 8. The Illini lost to UCLA and host Michigan next week and Purdue will host Michigan State. A win there for the Spartans will flip the Spartans and Boilermakers, in my opinion.
Arizona also went to Houston and beat the Cougars who were the No. 6 overall team. There’s another 2-seed that could drop to a 3-seed. Doors are opening for Michigan State everywhere.
Time to put up or shut up.