Where MSU Stands in Bracket Projections Before Big Week
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Some more clarity on Michigan State's current NCAA Tournament positioning has been reached.
The Spartans were revealed to be a current 4 seed at No. 14 overall during the selection committee's "bracket preview" that was on Saturday. The only problem is that that information is already outdated after the handful of days of games after that, including MSU's 66-60 win over Ohio State on Sunday. Things can also shift during the team's games at No. 8 Purdue and at Indiana this week.
Additionally, it was only the top 16 overall seeds and the top 4 seeds of each region being revealed. The committee didn't show first-weekend locations, which team each seed would play in the first round, and the teams each team could potentially face in the second round.
So, let's see where Michigan State lands in the latest projected brackets that fill in all 68 spots:
ESPN's Projection
ESPN's Joe Lunardi, like many others, are still aligned with the selection committee in that MSU is a projected 4 seed at the moment, as of Tuesday morning. Lunardi has relatively consistently had the Spartans as that seed in the West Region. Something clear is that Michigan State has little-to-no chance of being in the Midwest Region this year, since Michigan will probably be that region's 1 seed, and the committee would rather avoid aligning those teams for a Sweet 16 rivalry matchup.
For now, Lunardi has the Spartans starting their tourney run in Philadelphia, Penn., for a game against 13th-seeded High Point. The Panthers are 26-4 overall, 14-1 during Big South conference play, and 70th in the NET, which is higher than No. 73 Minnesota (a team that has beaten MSU, of course). Michigan State would then be projected to move on and face No. 5 seed Tennessee or 12th-seed South Florida in the second round, were it to advance. Arizona is the region's top seed in Lunardi's projection. If MSU got to the Wildcats in the second weekend, the game would be played in San Jose, California.
CBS's Projection
There are some close similarities between CBS's projections (done by David Cobb and Jacob Fetner and updated on Tuesday morning) and the one done by ESPN. They, too, have Michigan State as a 4 seed that would face either fifth-seeded Tennessee or No. 12 seed South Florida in the next round.
Important distinctions still remain, though: mainly the region and the first-round opponent. CBS actually has MSU in the South Region, which has its Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games played in Houston, Texas. UConn is the 1 seed in that region, currently. CBS also has the Spartans starting their run against 13 seed Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks currently sit at 25-4 overall with an 18-2 record during Southland Conference play, also currently being rated at 87th overall on the NET.
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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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