Michigan State basketball March Madness projections, bracketology: Feb. 17

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Now that Tom Izzo’s quest to become the winningest Big Ten coach in history is complete, Michigan State basketball can turn its attention to what’s ahead.

The pursuit of an 11th conference regular-season championship for its legendary coach. And, a month out from Selection Sunday, extending Izzo’s record NCAA tournament streak to 27 straight appearances.

Celebrate Tom Izzo with the Free Press’ commemorative poster

The 13th-ranked Spartans split a pair of games last week that could impact their potential for seeding, a brutal loss to Indiana that was their first at home this season and a thrilling road win at Illinois to offset it and boost their profile.

But the road to March Madness only intensifies from here, with two straight short-prep games coming off Saturday’s win against the Illini. Second-place MSU (20-5, 11-3) has a pair of critical games for both its NCAA profile and the Big Ten title race, hosting third-place No. 14 Purdue at 7 p.m. Tuesday and traveling to league-leading and No. 12 Michigan on Friday night.

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.” Among them:

Record: The team’s overall record, conference record, and non-conference record

Strength of schedule: The strength of the teams the team played against

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

Conference championships: The number of conference championships won

Common opponents: The results of games against common opponents

Adjusted Net Efficiency (NET): A measure of 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 computer program that calculates a team’s winning percentage, opponents’ success, and opponents’ strength of schedule

Each week moving forward, the Free Press will take a look back at the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-basketball-march-madness-201920864.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-02-17 20:19:00

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