Michigan State Basketball Rises in Latest Bracket Projections

Joe Lunardi of ESPN officially updated his projections on Tuesday morning. He moved MSU up from being a 3 seed on his last projection to having Michigan State on the two-line.

Lunardi has the Spartans in the West Region, with MSU headed to Buffalo, N.Y., for the first two rounds. If MSU were to reach the Sweet 16 and/or the Elite Eight, it would head to San Jose, Calif.

The Draw

In the first round, Lunardi has Michigan State facing off against 15th-seeded Lipscomb, the current leaders of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Bisons have three power conference teams this season, losing by 44 at current No. 18 Vanderbilt, losing by 24 at fourth-ranked Duke, and losing by at Cincinnati. MSU and Lipscomb --- located in Nashville, Tenn. --- have never faced one another before.

Assuming the Spartans were to advance past the first round, they would be guaranteed to face either a former or a current Big Ten coach. Michigan State would face either No. 7 seed Villanova, coached by former Maryland coach Kevin Willard, or 10th-seeded Ohio State, coached by Jake Diebler. MSU is going to face the Buckeyes on Feb. 22 in East Lansing, either way. The Spartans' most likely Sweet 16 opponent would be No. 3 seed Gonzaga; in the Elite 8, the most likely opponent would be top overall seed Arizona.

CBS's Latest Projection

Worked on by David Cobb and Jacob Fetner, CBS is still projecting Michigan State to be a 3 seed, as of Tuesday morning. CBS doesn't seem to specify where MSU would begin its tourney run, but the closest locations to East Lansing are Buffalo and Philadelphia, Penn.

CBS also has the Spartans in the West Region. If this holds for the remainder of the season, it may be best for Michigan State fans to look at those flights.

The Draw

Michigan State is projected to face St. Thomas in the first round of the tourney here. The Tommies play in the Summit League. Their only game against a power-conference foe was a 26-point loss at Saint Mary's.

Assuming MSU were to advance, it would face either sixth-seeded Tennessee or No. 11 seed Utah State. In the Sweet 16, it would most likely be second-seeded Purdue, though the Spartans face the Boilermakers in West Lafayette on Feb. 26. The top seed in the West Region, who Michigan State wouldn't see until the Elite 8, is, again, Arizona.

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