NCAA Tournament Selection Committee Reveals MSU's Current Seed
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Michigan State basketball has gotten some clarification on where it stands in the eyes of the NCAA's selection committee.
On Saturday afternoon, the committee, led by chairperson and Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill, delivered a "bracket preview," where it announced the current top 16 overall seeds, also sorting those seeds into regions. MSU made the list, coming in as a 4 seed in the West Region and at 14th overall. Those ahead of the Spartans in their region is No. 1 Arizona (third overall), No. 2 Purdue (eighth overall), and No. 3 Gonzaga (12th overall).
There is still a lot of time for things to change. The Spartans still have at least six games --- five regular season contests, at least one Big Ten Tournament --- to play and move up or down the seed list before the final, 68-team bracket gets revealed on Sunday, March 15.
The next opportunity for Michigan State is on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) against Ohio State. There will still be several other big opportunities for the Spartans in the regular season. MSU plays at Purdue next Thursday and also at No. 1 overall seed Michigan on Sunday, March 8.
What We Learned
The big thing to know is the region that Michigan State was slotted into. That determines where the Spartans would end up playing if they were to reach the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. Being slotted into the West Region means that MSU would head out, well, west, to San Jose, Calif.
Getting the Midwest Region would be the favorable draw. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 there is in Chicago this year. The problem is that Michigan gets first dibs on the region right now as the No. 1 overall seed.
The selection committee generally would prefer to avoid matchups between two teams from the same conference and probably isn't going to want to set up a possible No. 1 Michigan-No. 4 Michigan State game in the Sweet 16. There's a reason the two programs haven't met in the NCAA Tournament before, after all.
What MSU really has to internalize is that its status as a top-4 seed is not very safe. The Spartans are the second-best 4 seed, but lose a game you're not supposed to or underperform down the stretch, and they might find themselves on the 5 or the 6 line. Not only does that give Michigan State less control over its first and second round location, but that also means a tougher matchup in Round 1.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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