Last March, Michigan State set a Big Ten record when they earned a bid to their 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament. As this year began, the Spartans’ streak appeared poised to extend to 26, with the team beginning the season ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll. However, Tom Izzo’s Michigan State basketball team dropped four of their first five games, including a home loss to James Madison on opening night, and thus faced an uphill battle to secure a spot in the tournament.
With just one regular-season game remaining, Michigan State finds itself with work to do in order to feel safe going into Selection Sunday. Below is a further look at the resume for this Michigan State basketball team, showing what they must do to make the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Resume of Michigan State Basketball | March Madness
Despite having just an 18-12 record, the Spartans currently rank 22nd in the NET which is doing a lot of heavy lifting for their tournament case. They don’t have an abundance of great wins, but have avoided a disastrous loss that would really tank their metrics. Here is a breakdown of the Spartans’ results this year.
| Q1-A | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| 2-5 | 4-8 | 4-4 | 5-0 | 6-0 |
Best Wins: Baylor (N), Illinois (H), Maryland (A)
Worst Losses: James Madison (H), Iowa (H), Ohio State (H)
As seen in the best wins category, Michigan State has only beaten two teams that project to receive at-large bids to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Also, the Spartans are currently on a 3-game losing streak, with home losses to Iowa and Ohio State included in that stretch. Despite the metrics suggesting they are a top 25 team, Michigan State still has work to do due to their current performance and lack of quality wins.
Where Michigan State Currently Stands in Bracketology?
In all 125 brackets that are factored into bracketmatrix.com, the Spartans still appear in the Field of 68. If the NCAA Tournament were to start today, they would be in. Joe Lunardi currently has them as a 9-seed, and still clear of the “Last Four Byes” category. However, with a week remaining in the regular season, there is still the possibility to Michigan State to fall out of the field due to losses and other bubble teams adding wins.
Remaining Michigan State Basketball Schedule
Michigan State has another winnable Quad-2 game to close out the season, playing at Indiana. The Spartans will then travel to Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament before learning their fate on Selection Sunday. If they win in Indiana, they will get an NCAA Tournament berth no matter what happens in Minneapolis. They control their own destiny.
