Michigan State basketball was absolutely clawed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, earning a play-in game as a “last four in” team.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably been sitting in front of the TV on Sunday night waiting for the news. Would the state of Michigan be a number 10 or a number 11 seed? Would they play Friday or Saturday? Who would be their first round opponent?
All these questions were answered, but there was more that arose after the boring was completed. The state of Michigan obtained an 11-seed in the Eastern region (the same region as Michigan) linked to the UCLA-11 seed. Yes, you read that right, Michigan State deserved one of the in-games, meaning the Spartans were one of the last four teams.
This was contrary to what every college on basketball said before Sunday. Some had Michigan State as the first number 10 seed, others comfortably overtook them as the first of the “last four bees”.
But that was not the case. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee did not think enough of the 15-12 Spartans to keep them out of the play-in game.
Three top-five wins in two weeks (including one over probably the best team in the state, Illinois), were not enough to keep them comfortable. The committee wanted the state of Michigan to earn a spot in the first round with a play. -in victory over UCLA.
Still, a team like Syracuse won the entire season with one ranking, escaping an in-play game, despite the fact that almost every college basketball expert was on the wrong side of the bubble.
When Mitch Barnhart, AD in Kentucky and chairman of the selection committee, spoke on CBS about the decision to place Michigan State as a “last four in” team, he gave no good reason. He refers to the work and then says ‘what better way to kick off the weekend’ than a game between Michigan and UCLA.
So it was for viewers? It was for money? Got this.
What a way to show that you care more about the dollars than the real value of a team in the NCAA Tournament.
Placing the state of Utah and Syracuse over the Spartans was a shock and a disgrace. The committee did this for viewers and not because one of the teams deserves that spot in Michigan State, which is shameful.
No one predicts that MSU will win everything this year, but to play the extra game puts the Spartans at a huge disadvantage to make a turn in the first weekend.
If you’re like me, you’re dumbfounded by this selection committee by the selection committee.