ESPN Bracketology: 11 Seed, Avoids Play-in
Heck of a jump in the bracketology. Went from next four out to clear of Dayton.
Huge opportunity to capitalize against Wisconsin this week.
And ugh, would play ND AGAIN. Don't see that happening.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:27 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
they would still get in. And be the #hotpick to win it all.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:38 AM ^
Two of the last 3 NCAA Tournaments (2014, 2016) I'm pretty sure the whole college basketball staff -- almost without exception -- at ESPN picked MSU to win it all. 3 total wins in those two tournaments. It's comical.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:43 AM ^
if they get remotely hot down the stretch you will hear about "The Men of March" and the "genious of Izzo" all day long. Their NCAA title was 17 YEARS AGO.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:46 AM ^
They've gone to a ton of Final Fours and have a HoF coach.
2014 was E8 and took Napier going insane to win.
2016 was one of the biggest upsets you'll see. No one saw that coming.
Every MM, I'll pick them to lose in the first round, even if it's against a 16 seed because I can't stand them. But they have a good track record and it's really not that far fetched when people take them far, because they've done it many times.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^
amount of respect that MSU gets is disproportionate to their performance, in recent years, without question.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^
Big Ten regular season champs: 2012
Big Ten tourney champs: 2012, 2014, 2016
NCAA tourney results:
2012: Sweet 16
2013: Sweet 16
2014: Elite 8
2015: Final Four
2016: first round
February 13th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^
guess these results just don't blow my mind the way they apparently do yours. I am not saying that Michigan State is not a formidable basketball program but the amount of love they get every year when the bracket is announced is over the top.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:34 AM ^
That's not a bad track record for most programs, but maybe not for a program that was a hot pick to win the national title two of the last three years.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^
In the last 5 years they have been to one Final Four -- and got massacred in it -- despite being picked to win it all on multiple occasions. This is not even close to living up to the hype they receive from the ESPN/CBS types.
February 13th, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^
Is a total crapshoot, there's no other way to put it.
So I don't fault people whatsoever for putting in a program that has been to a TON of Final Fours in the last 15 years. They have a great track record of deep runs. That's not some made-up fact. When you don't know who is capable of making a deep run, there's nothing wrong with picking a team that has been pretty damn good.
February 13th, 2017 at 2:41 PM ^
MSU's been a very good program, to be sure. But they've historically struggled when they've gone up head-to-head against the bluebloods. Izzo is winless, or close to it, against UNC and Duke. Given their history, I'd call them a decent pick to make the Final Four many years (not this one), but I'd hold off on picking them to win the whole thing.
February 14th, 2017 at 2:12 AM ^
Your first point is very important, but then you kind of shit on it. It is a crapshoot, which is why no one should make any *hot-take* type predictions regarding it, and they shouldn't have a told-ya-so attitude about it ever, even after the fact. People's inability to grasp uncertainty is astounding. If we could rerun the tournament 1 million times (we can't), the distribution in the results would be astoundingly wide, and no one outcome is predictable ahead of time with much certainty. Hindsight on the other hand...
February 13th, 2017 at 12:36 PM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 4:47 PM ^
not much different than UM the past 5 years, yet so many on this blog want JB fired.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:39 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^
You realize they are #5 in the big ten standings and probably will finish #4 right? Especially with 4 of 5 games at home. I hate MSU as much as anybody else, but the #4 team in the Big Ten isn't getting left out the tournament.
We would flip spots with them if we hadn't collapsed against Iowa in the first game.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:57 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 2:20 PM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 7:32 PM ^
they catch NW, which has a relatively easy final six games.
More likely that MSU gets caught and/or passed by someone behind them. They'll make the tourney though, and they should, unless they lose 4 of final 6.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^
wet the bed to miss the tournament. I have NO clue why, but they are being thought of as completely favorable to get in without doing anything of note, and have some pretty bad losses.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 10:54 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^
If anyone can affect the outcome of a contest, it's Mr. Putin.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^
Realistically, MSU will miss the tournament if they finish 2-4 (or worse) in their final 6 games, OR if they finish 3-3 but lose an ugly first round game in the Big Ten tournament AND other bubble teams overperform.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:56 AM ^
All their non-conf losses (exepct Northeastern) were to top 15 competition. They'd basically have to lo go 2-4 or 1-5 down the stretch to miss the tournament. I have a hard time believing they will lose to OSU, Illinois and Nebraska. I'd love to be wrong though.
February 13th, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^
Don't forget about the abonimable clock game stolen from FGCU.
February 13th, 2017 at 12:50 PM ^
I'm sure he won't bring it up if no one else does.
February 13th, 2017 at 5:00 PM ^
they have work to do. their best win is against wichita state (neutral) or @Minn. They also beat UM and NU at home. That is it. They better beat Wisc (home) or @Purdue; or sweep the other 4 games but one of those is @MD.
They need another quality win to get in; unless they win at least two games in the BTT.
If UM and MSU both go 3-3 the rest of the way, I don't see how the committee selects sparty over us, comparing them head to head. UM should get the nod if they compare head to head right now. Just look at the scores and results against common opponents and against each other.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^
On the bracket matrix going into the weekend, I think there were 6 or 7 losses from the 10-11 seed range, and none of the teams that won really beat anyone all that good. Pretty much a perfect weekend for Michigan's seeding chances. Still a very fragile bubble spot though.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^
No one else may care about this, but this bracket sets up the possibility of Kansas playing Wichita St. in Tulsa in the second round. If that happens, that's some serious trolling.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:47 AM ^
I'm very excited about the potential.
- Walton
- Irvin
- Rahkman
- Wagner
- Wilson
Add to that Simpson - 10%, Duncan - 20%, Donnal - 10%, Teske - 5%.
When Irvin gets his groove back, all 5 guys can shoot, as well as Duncan and Simpson, and even Donnal. Wilson and Walton look unguardable. Wagner isn't shabby either. Rahkman is great at shadowing the best offensive player on the other team.
I'm really looking forward to the Wisconsin game. Northwestern gave a potential template on how to win . . . double team their best player and force them to win elsewhere.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^
I don't think we will ever see Irvin get his groove back. He's been on a steady decline since his sophomore year.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:34 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 11:34 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
I don't think we have an option to playing Irvin. Robinson might bury us early in a game against a good team with his defensive issues. You take Irvin's D and hope they fall. It's tough to tell him to simply 'stop shooting' in this offense.
Can X play the two? If yes, well enough as a Fresh?
February 13th, 2017 at 12:46 PM ^
Robinson is obviously not quick, but I've actually been impressed with his effort. He has to work hard on the defensive end but he's doing that. Irvin, is not only slow but his effort is average at best. I would have no problem starting Robinson. You lose nothing defensively and gain an actual competent shooter!
Other than making an occasional decent pass (usually sandwiched between two errant ones), Irvin is bringing NOTHING to this team. Yes, his confidence is low, but he was never a good shooter to begin with. We don't go anywhere unless Irvin is minimized at this point. Period.
February 13th, 2017 at 12:58 PM ^
Robinson's defense is heads and shoulders worse than Irvin's. That's not even a debatable item.
And I'm on the board of Irvin's minutes being taken away a bit for others to contribute, but defensively is not an issue with the young man.
February 13th, 2017 at 8:06 PM ^
only gets you so far when your feet are made of cement and you're so skinny you can't box out. The even more shocking thing from Robinson this year is that he hasn't played smart.
He was the one that left Loving for the wide open three that MAAR took the blame for on this blog, even though MAAR was trying to get over from his own man. Many head scratching decisions from Robinson, which is unacceptable when he's physically a terrible defender. He's a huge minus defender, whereas Irvin is a plus defender and he's playing with plenty of effort too. Shots just aren't falling right now.
February 13th, 2017 at 10:52 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 11:02 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 11:28 AM ^
Irvin needs to come off the bench for Wisconsin. Something isn't clicking. Has been severely more "off" than usual of late.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^
off and defense has been playing a big role in recent victories. We need Irvin on the floor.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^
Fine...He can be on the floor. But put him on a leash. First shot he takes that isn't a layup = Bench.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:43 AM ^
There's an idea, have him come off the bench playing for Wisconsin and we are sure to win!
February 13th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^
Sure, make a big change in the line-up for a huge game. Seems like a good fan-based approach.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:38 AM ^
I would take being an 11-seed at the moment - I was admittedly pretty down regarding the ongoing road struggles until yesterday, but now games like Nebraska and Rutgers seem even more winnable than before, and they seemed quite winnable to begin with.
We need to beat Wisconsin, I would think, and hopefully we can take Purdue at Crisler, but 4-2 the rest of the way going into the BTT seems like it sets us up well enough. Not sure how realistic that is, because Michigan seems to be a "moody" team, if you will, but I have more hope for a decent finish than I did at this point yesterday.