Folks, Michigan State basketball has officially made 26 straight NCAA Tournaments. Who is in the Spartans’ region?
The wait is finally over. After a tough season and an anxious day of waiting after everything went wrong on Saturday, Michigan State basketball is officially in the NCAA Tournament. This marks the 26th straight appearance for the Spartans, the longest active streak in the country.
The season may not have gone as planned, but Spartan Nation can breathe a sigh of relief as the streak is (barely) staying intact.
Michigan State’s region
The Spartans earned the 9-seed in the West Region. They will take on 8-seed Mississippi State in Charlotte, N.C., in the first round of the tournament. Many thought the Spartans were heading to the First Four in Dayton, but thankfully the Spartans avoid having to play an extra game.
Michigan State also has a potential matchup with 1-seed North Carolina in the second round if it can beat Mississippi State. The remaining top four seeds in their region include 2-seed Arizona, 3-seed Baylor, and 4-seed Alabama.
Here is Michigan State’s full region.
Expectations for Michigan State
Now that we know who Michigan State is playing and what its region looks like, what are some realistic expectations? This year is harder than most for me to predict how well the Spartans will do. This team has flashes of being really good but can also lose to pretty much any team in this bracket.
So which Michigan State team will we see?
Last season, the Spartans made a magical run to the Sweet 16 and nearly beat Kansas State to make the Elite Eight. I unfortunately do not see that happening again this year. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely could happen, but this team is too unpredictable to have any sort of expectations.
So that may just be the best way for Spartan fans to feel going into the tournament. I plan on going in with no expectations and just being along for the ride. That doesn’t mean I won’t be cheering as hard as possible, but I’m not going to let myself get my hopes up. I’m sure all that will change once the games start though.
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