Michigan State basketball is probably considered a “bubble team” in early January, but this NCAA Tournament prediction is interesting.
It’s never too early to project the NCAA Tournament right? It seems like I see new seeding projections for the Big Dance every day, but it’s not often you see someone make predictions for each game of the tournament in January. Michigan State basketball was given an interesting path.
That’s exactly what one analyst did. ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi is no secret to predicting the NCAA Tournament field. That’s kind of what his only job is for ESPN. But he took it one step further this time and not only predicted who would make the tournament field, but who would win every game.
This might sound a little silly to do in January, I definitely agree, but I couldn’t help but notice the interesting path he predicted for Michigan State.
Michigan State earns an 8-seed
In Joe Lunardi’s bracket, he has MSU earning an 8-seed in the South Region. Based on how the season has gone so far from the Spartans, an 8-seed is definitely possible.
Lunardi has Michigan State matched up with 9-seed Texas A&M in the first round, winning a nail-biter 71-70. You’re probably thinking this is where MSU’s run ends as most 8-9 seeds lose in the next round. Think again.
Michigan State goes into the second round against 1-seed UConn and they not only beat the reigning champions, but they absolutely destroy them. He has the Spartans winning by a final score of 100-81 and MSU finally gets their revenge on the Huskies after the heartbreaking Elite Eight loss in 2014. Now I’m not saying we couldn’t beat UConn, but scoring 100 and winning by 19 points? I wouldn’t bet on that.
But alas, Lunardi has us marching on to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
Sweet 16 and Elite Eight
Joe Lunardi must really like Tom Izzo, because the magic doesn’t end there. The Spartans now face the Cinderella story, 12-seeded Saint Mary Gaels. We once again destroy our opponent, winning 77-53.
MSU’s Elite Eight matchup comes against the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Spartans with revenge on their mind again — yes, I’m talking about the 2009 national title game loss, beating the Tar Heels 73-67 to head to our program’s 11th Final Four.
Final Four
Our magical run continues against a Big Ten opponent this time, the Wisconsin Badgers. This run so far has been about revenge for past Spartan teams, but unfortunately that’s what happens this time for Wisconsin. Lunardi has Wisconsin beating MSU 78-59 and the Badgers finally get their revenge from their 2000 Final Four to MSU.
In case you are still curious, Wisconsin then loses to Tennessee in the championship game and the Volunteers win their first national title after making their first Final Four appearance in program history.
I know absolutely none of this matters at the end of the day, but it’s always fun to see what the experts think of Michigan State and their team. And to nobody’s surprise, this expert knows that Tom Izzo is special in March.
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