Michigan State basketball picked up a massive win in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday which may have secured an NCAA Tournament berth.
Fast forward a couple of hours and Michigan State came away with a huge win against Minnesota, 77-67. That now just leaves one question on every Spartan fan’s mind: Is Michigan State officially in the NCAA Tournament?
Spartans clinch an NCAA Tournament berth
Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, every NCAA Tournament expert still had MSU in the field of 68. However, they were hovering very close to the tournament bubble. The Spartans were on average a 10-seed in the tournament, which is by no means a comfortable place to be.
The consensus among the college basketball world is that the Spartans could miss the tournament with a loss to Minnesota. However, that did not happen after the Spartans dominated Minnesota in the second half en route to their 10-point victory.
Now there is no way to 100 percent guarantee the Spartans are in the Big Dance as the selection committee has done some interesting things in the past. But by all accounts (analysts, media, bracket experts) the Spartans should have nothing to worry about.
One way for Michigan State to leave absolutely no doubt about their tournament status is by beating 1-seed Purdue on Friday. That’s their next opponent in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Winning that game would definitely put this conversation to bed.
However, I feel extremely confident in saying that Michigan State basketball has nothing to worry about. The team and our fanbase can rest easy, knowing that MSU’s name will be called for the 26th straight year on Selection Sunday.
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