A look at Michigan State’s past performance in the NCAA Tournament as “Selection Sunday” approaches

Although the Spartans have dropped their last five games, wins against Indiana State and Baylor early in the season might help the team qualify for the NCAA Tournament…

Michigan State men’s basketball will now have to wait until “Selection Sunday” to learn its next opponent after falling to Purdue on Friday.

Despite dropping five of their last seven games, almost all bracketologists have the Spartans guaranteed berth in the NCAA Tournament. There are still a few viable bid-stealers in existence around the nation as conference tournaments come to an end this weekend. In light of that, the CV that Michigan State will submit to the selection committee is as follows:

The Spartans had an overall record of 19-14, finishing 1-1 in the conference tournament and 10-10 in Big Ten competition. Despite having the worst record of any team in the Top 35, MSU is ranked No. 24 in the nation according to the NCAA’s NET rating. That is attributable to Michigan State’s robust schedule, which head coach Tom Izzo fills full to get his team ready for the NCAA tournament.

The Spartans traveled to neutral venues to play multiple ranked non-conference games this season against Arizona, Duke, and Baylor. Michigan State’s record was unaffected by the defeats to the Wildcats and Blue Devils, and the victory over the Bears gave the Spartans a significant lift. Even though MSU faced off against elite teams this season, it found it difficult to defeat those rivals. Spartans’ record against Quad 1 clubs was 3-9.

In February, Michigan State not only defeated Baylor but also prevailed in a crucial game at home against Illinois. But MSU’s only other Quad 1 triumph and next-best win came early in the season against Indiana State. Although the Spartans are still predicted to finish ahead of Indiana State in bracketology, the Sycamores are still a bubble team. Although many of them didn’t give it much thought in December, that game might determine which of them advances to the NCAA tournament.

In previous Big Ten championship seasons, Michigan State easily defeated the majority of Quad 2 opponents, which were often elite mid-major programs and middle-of-the-road Power 6 programs. The Spartans had a 6-5 record this year against Quad 2 schools, which included defeats to Iowa, Ohio State, Indiana, and James Madison in the season’s opening game. The amount of contribution from players like Tre Holloman, Jaden Akins, and the frontcourt determined the outcome in most of these games. For bubble teams, this quadrant will be carefully examined in order to determine who gets in and also for seeding purposes.

Teams can only suffer from Quad 3 and 4 opponents, but this season the Spartans were 10-0 in their bottom half of games. Michigan State may pass other bubble teams if they suffer defeats to opponents from these quadrants. Oakland, the Horizon League champions who have already booked their ticket to “the Big Dance,” is one of the Spartans’ Quad 3 victories.

Michigan State is currently predicted to start as the 10th seed in the NCAA tournament. The Spartans are within striking distance of making the Dayton “First Four” round and can be seen playing securely in the field of sixteen.

We’ll find out by the end of today whether any more teams that were not predicted to make the NCAA Tournament manage to grab a bid as conference championships begin to finish up. Michigan State might fall to an 11-seed as a result of those outcomes, but the Spartans are not likely to be among the “Last Four In.” However, given how MSU concluded its campaign, it might be some time before the Spartans hear their name called.