Do You Think MSU Got A Good Draw?
To be more specific, do you think the Michigan State Men's Basketball team got a good draw in the NCAA Tournament? Which is set to begin on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio with the first two "First Four" games.
To recap, Michigan State earned the number 9 seed in the West Regional with their 19-14 season record. They finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten with a 10-10 league record. And after beating Minnesota in the 1st round of the Big Ten Tournament, they lost to regular season champion Purdue in the quarterfinals.
MSU drew another MSU, Mississippi State, in the first round of the tournament. The two MSU's will face each other on Thursday afternoon at 12:15 in Charlotte, NC. The Spartans will be wearing their road green uniforms as the Bulldogs of Miss. St. are the 8th seed, and thus the higher seed in this matchup.
There are two schools of thought on this, I'll lay then out for you:
THEY GOT A GOOD DRAW
You could say that his because A. Michigan State got into the tournament in the first place despite 14 losses., and B. They are in the region with the 4th (and in theory, weakest) number 1 seed, North Carolina. If Michigan State beats Mississippi State, they would likely play the Tar Heels in Round 2 on Saturday.
The Bulldogs are 21-13 overall, so they are very beatable. And Carolina is just coming off losing to arch-rival North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game last Saturday night. Where is their mind heading into the Big Dance?
THEY GOT A TOUGH DRAW
Mississippi State finished in 9th place in the SEC this season. But they beat league champion Tennessee in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, and then lost a competitive game to eventual SEC Tournament champ Auburn (73-66) in the semifinals last Saturday. So they are coming in on a high.
And the SEC is a MUCH better conference than it was five years ago. The league is better and deeper with lots of quality teams. Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, and Texas A & M, and South Carolina are all very good teams. 8 SEC teams made the NCAA Tournament this season.
So, what do you think. Did the Spartans get a good draw in this year's NCAA Big Dance? Or are they going to be one and out this year?
Or are you one of those fans who are just thankful that State made the Tournament for the 26th straight year to keep the streak of Tourneys made going?
Let us know what you think!!!