Michigan State extends NCAA Tournament appearance streak to 26 straight, earns No. 9 seed in West Region
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State coaches, players and fans can breathe easier. The second-longest active NCAA Tournament appearance streak, and third-longest in event history, is intact after the Spartans received an at-large bid for the 68-team NCAA Basketball Tournament.
One of six teams from the Big Ten to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State will play in Charlotte as the No. 9 seed in a Thursday matchup with No. 8-seed Mississippi State (21-13).
Michigan State has played in every NCAA Tournament since 1998. The Spartans will make their 26th consecutive appearance at the event, which began in 1924.
Michigan State currently holds the third-longest NCAA tournament appearance streak in the history of the event. Among active NCAA Tournament appearance streaks, Michigan State trails only Kansas, which has played in every NCAA Tournament since 1990.
After beating Minnesota at the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, it appeared that the Spartans had done enough to pull themselves off the NCAA Tournament bubble to insulate themselves from Selection Sunday drama. A wild Saturday filled with several conference tournament upsets changed all that, putting Michigan State in a precarious position when brackets were announced on Sunday evening.
Upsets in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, the A-10 Tournament and the Pac-12 Tournament on Saturday had a major impact on at-large bids. North Carolina State pulled off one of the biggest upsets on Saturday, defeating No. 4-ranked North Carolina, 84-76, to win the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack won their conference tournament despite having a sub .500 record in the ACC during the regular season.
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Temple’s upset of Florida Atlantic in the A-10 conference tournament also created a ripple effect among bubble teams, likely taking away an at-large bid available to a Power Conference program. Oregon’s win over Colorado for the Pac-12 Championship also had an impact on available at-large bids.
But Michigan State played two games in the Big Ten Tournament and accomplished enough in each to build momentum going into the NCAA Tournament. After losing by five points to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, Michigan State fell to 19-14 overall on the season. Despite that record, the Spartans were still in good shape with regard to the metrics used to select the NCAA Tournament Field.
Among NCAA Tournament bubble teams, Michigan State had the second-highest NET ranking at No. 24 thanks to a strength of schedule that ranked No. 14 in college basketball. The Spartans posted a 9-14 record on the season against Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams. That record isn’t spectacular, but the fact that Michigan State suffered no bad losses, going 10-0 and Quad 3 and Quad 4 games, worked in favor of the Spartans.
Michigan State is one of six Big Ten teams that earned an NCAA Tournament bid. That group includes Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Northwestern.
