Michigan State basketball's NCAA tournament résumé for March Madness: Jan. 13

Michigan State basketball’s NCAA tournament résumé for March Madness: Jan. 13

Posted by Admin January 13, 2025 Basketball

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A ninth straight win keeps Michigan State basketball on course to extend Tom Izzo’s record NCAA tournament streak to 27 years.

The 14-2 Spartans moved to No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll on Monday after two more impressive victories, a home blowout of Big Ten newcomer Washington and another at-times dominating performance Sunday at Northwestern. They also reside atop the Big Ten standings with a 5-0 record at the quarter-mark of the 20-game regular season, giving chase to an 11th league title and MSU’s first since 2020.

So far, so good. Things may not go as smoothly as the conference race gets heated up and the schedule gets tougher, but barring a complete collapse, it appears safe to assume that Izzo and the Spartans will hear their names called come Selection Sunday on March 16.

There are a number of criteria the selection committee looks at in order to make its assessment in addition to subjective assessments like the “eyeball test.” The Spartans continue to shoot up many of the rankings as they stay red-hot and atop the Big Ten standings.

Each week moving forward, the Free Press will take a look back at the Spartans’ previous week and assess how their resume has changed and stacks up to the competition.

Michigan State basketball results last week

Jan. 9: 88-54 home win over Washington – An overwhelming start-to-finish performance, buoyed by a tone-setting 28-2 advantage on the fast break, delivered MSU another well-balanced victory against the Big Ten newcomers. Jaden Akins scored 20 points, three other Spartans reached double digits and five more chipped in at least five points, with 37 points coming from the bench players. That transition game led Jeremy Fears Jr. to his first career double-double as he and Tre Holloman combined for 23 points, 16 assists and just two turnovers. MSU led by as many as 41 points.

Jan. 12: 78-68 road win at Northwestern – The Spartans carried over the effort from Thursday against the Huskies into a breathtaking first half against the Wildcats that Izzo said might have been their best 20 minutes of the season, leading by as many as 23 points and flexing their strength in numbers by getting points from all 10 rotation players by halftime. Akins again led the way with 15 points and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career with six free throws in the final minute after Northwestern cut it back to single-digits. MSU’s trend of getting across-the-board contributions also continued, as Fears had 12 points and eight assists, Jase Richardson scored 13 points and four others had at least seven points. All 10 regulars scored and nine grabbed at least one rebound.

Net rankings: No. 14 (previous week No. 25)

All rankings entering Monday’s games.

Quad 1 record: 3-2

Quad 2 record: 2-0

Quad 3 record: 4-0

Quad 4 record: 5-0

KenPom rankings: No. 14 (began week No. 17)

All rankings entering Monday’s games.

Offensive efficiency: No. 25

Defensive efficiency: No. 12

Bracketology projections

ESPN: 4-seed in Midwest Region: Indianapolis (As of Jan. 10)

CBS: 3-seed in Midwest Region: Indianapolis (As of Jan. 13)

On3: 5-seed in Midwest Region: Indianapolis (As of Jan. 5)

T3 Bracketology: 4-seed (As of Jan. 9)

How NCAA tournament committee selects at-large teams

Record: The team’s overall record, conference record and nonconference record.

Strength of schedule: The strength of the opponents the team played against.

Head-to-head results: The results of games between the teams being compared.

Conference championships: Whether a conference championship was won in the regular season or tournament.

Common opponents: The results of games against common opponents.

Adjusted Net Efficiency (NET): The NCAA’s preferred metric measuring a team’s overall performance during the regular season.

Team Value Index: A results-oriented component of the NET that ranks teams based on who they beat and where they played.

Rating Percentage Index (RPI): A formula that ranks teams using a team’s winning percentage, opponents’ success and opponents’ strength of schedule.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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