Michigan State basketball win in Ann Arbor an indicator of Final Four run?

Could MSU be on track to make the Final Four?

Michigan State has beaten Michigan in Ann Arbor 10 times in Tom Izzo’s tenure before Saturday. During those 10 seasons, Michigan State has gone on to make the Final Four eight times. A whopping 80 percent hit rate making the Final Four is definitely not something you can ignore. It’s also interesting because Izzo has been to the Final Four eight total times in his career, and all eight of those times he beat Michigan in Ann Arbor earlier in the season.

Another interesting stat is that Izzo has never made the Final Four when he’s lost a game in Ann Arbor. Sometimes data like this seems irrelevant, but it seems somewhat important to me.

Does this mean Michigan State will make the Final Four this year? It’s not a guarantee. But this isn’t the only reason why I’m starting to think MSU could make a deep run in March. The team overall has been playing at a high enough level where a Final Four seems possible. Michigan State basketball has won eight of its last 10 games, and has put some of this year’s demons to bed.

The Spartans finally got another marquee win when they beat No. 10 Illinois. They also finally added some more road wins to their resume after winning two road games this past week. And they finally have multiple reliable scoring options outside of Tyson Walker.

Michigan State is trending in the right direction, and nobody can deny that. And it just so happens that a win in Ann Arbor could be the indicator that a Final Four run is imminent.