ESPN credits Michigan for State's current 1 seed in Bracket
While there is already a bracketology post, it largely focuses on Michigan's placement. I happened to notice a tidbit that has to do with our relationship with Michigan State. Over at ESPN, they are crediting Michigan for Michigan State's current number 1 seed in the NCAA brackets. Lunardi writes,
The Spartans' heaviest lifting was done, incidentally, by archrival Michigan on Saturday night. The Wolverines' huge win against Ohio State gave Sparty the outright Big Ten lead. The Spartans then put their own cherry on the sundae at Purdue, and we no longer can deny a clear leader of the nation's No. 1 conference.
I got to thinking: I have no problem with Michigan giving this gift to Michigan State.
- Personally, I think Michigan State is better than Michigan right now.
- Beyond that, I think that Ohio is vulnerable, and think Michigan State is better.
- Most critically, and the reason for this post: I want Michigan to win for Michigan. I don't care if that results in a better seeding and bracket for Michigan State.
On this last point, can you imagine if the shoe was on the other foot? The reality is that so many Michigan State fans (and players) are so obsessed with Michigan, they would resent anything that helped Michigan. While I don't like Izzo, or the Spartans, I salute and congratulate them as a good team. I don't resent them, or wish them harm, or care about how what Michigan does affects them.
My focus is on Michigan, and what's best for Michigan. Michigan State? Not so much.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:27 PM ^
is that the Spartys have severe diarhea from a bad White Castle experience. But only for one night.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:27 PM ^
It looks good on Michigan's resume' to have a win over a #1 seed. Whatever we did to help their seeding may indeed help our's when it is all said and done come Selection Sunday.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^
OSU will likely end up a 2 seed and that will help out our resume as well. Now, if we beat either one of them in the tournament and have a winning record against them this season, then we are really talking.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^
Woah, that's deep.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:25 PM ^
you mean by winning we actually helped... OURSELVES? you are blowing my mind.
February 21st, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^
The win looks good, no doubt. I have MSU as a 1 seed right now as well, but let me emphasize "right now".
Duke or Kansas can easily pass Sparty between now and Selection Sunday though, especially with Duke having beaten MSU earlier in the season. Spartans have a pair of tough road games and play Ohio at home. Duke has a tough one at Florida State (I still think they will get revenge over FSU) and plays UNC at Cameron. Kansas's only legitimate opponent left is Missouri.
We all have heard that the Big Ten Tournament Championship means little because of how late the game is completed. Unless Michigan State makes the title game, I find it hard to believe they will get a 1 seed, especially if they lose between now and the end of the regular season (especially if Duke and Kansas win their remaining regular season games).
February 20th, 2012 at 6:30 PM ^
I have a small part of me that always roots for MSU to get a #1 seed and somehow be that first team. I'm growing weary of still having to hear the cat calls for App St. It would be the most fitting degree of karmic reciprocity.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:35 PM ^
That reminds me...at the Sugar Bowl some idiots were chanting "James Madison" in the tunnels before the game. My only thought was "You fucking morons". Obviously, the VaTech fans started chanting "Appalachian State". It's just a reminder that every school, including Michigan, has "those" fans.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:38 PM ^
I had actually thought about that issue before the game. Figured both fan bases could feel "safe" knowing those dark memories wouldn't be brought up.
Also, +1 for going to the Sugar Bowl. Awesome.
February 21st, 2012 at 9:39 AM ^
I want to believe, but realistically there is still a world of difference between losing in the tourney as a #1 seed and what happened with App St., being at home, being #5, and losing to a team that we paid to come take a beating is way worse than the blemish of being at a neutral site and being paired up against some random school.
It seems like every year there is a George Mason or a Butler that come out of nowhere and make a long, long run in the tournament. It's easy to erase losing to a surprise program one year. Totally different to lose to one who had no business competing in the first place.
February 21st, 2012 at 11:02 AM ^
And 2 seeds have almost equal success, having only lost 4 times, with the most recent being Iowa State to Hampton.
There really isn't much difference between a 1 and a 2 seed, to be honest, at least in the early rounds. The biggest difference is with the Final Four, where 1 seeds are twice as likely as 2 seeds to make the final weekend.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:42 PM ^
I hope Michigan State does not get a 1 seed. The reason for this is that for Michigan to have a shot at the conference title, we need State to lose at least one game. This would probably prevent them from being a 1 seed.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:45 PM ^
I hope Ohio, or someone else, beats Michigan State. That, along with Michigan winning out, would give us a share of the title.
However, I think it is possible for us to end up sharing the title, and for Michigan State to still have a number 1 seed. Of course, this depends on many things happening, but I see the NCAA giving the Big 10 a single Number 1 seed, and think that is most likely to go to State.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:13 PM ^
MSU has to go to Assembly Hall for their last road game of the regular season. I suspect that game could be a dog fight. IU may be out to avenge their prior loss and put themselves in a better position for the tourney.
February 21st, 2012 at 9:40 AM ^
Agree. OSU could be a vulnerable team, especially on the road at the end of the season, and I could see @IU being the hardest game left.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:00 PM ^
I think it's very possible for us to take a share of the Big Ten and Sparty to get a one seed. If MSU loses one more conference game and then wins the big Ten tourney, they'd be a one seed all the way. If we can win out, and MSU loses a game to, say, OSU, then we'd tie for the reg season title. And the committee will not deny a one seed to a team that won a share of the reg season Big Ten crown and then won the Big Ten tourney.
February 20th, 2012 at 8:32 PM ^
So what if State drops one, and we win out including the BTT? Can the committee still not deny a one seed to a team that won a share of the reg season Big Ten crown and then won the Big Ten Tourney? Even with 7 losses?
February 21st, 2012 at 9:41 AM ^
*IF* that happened I imagine it would just go elsewhere. Winning the conference won't guarantee a #1, will it? I just don't see anything we can do right now to get that distinction.
February 20th, 2012 at 6:47 PM ^
different than any other Big Ten team they struggle on the road. I saw some stat where Bufford averages less than 10 points a game on the road this year in Big Ten play. He is over 15 points a game on the year. The Big Ten is brutual for any team on the road. I mean look at the hooshiers they are awful on the road and almost unbeatable at home. I think it is MSU, Ohio then Michigan, Hooshiers, Wisconsin being the next three. Then everyone else after those 5 top teams. But on the road anyone can win anywhere just see Nebraska and their big wins at home the last month.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:03 PM ^
Hoosiers.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:23 PM ^
I do apologize for the error but it will not let me go back and edit for some reason. It isnt even an option so I guess it will stay like that. But from now on I will know how to spell it at least.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:35 PM ^
You can go back and edit your post UNTIL someone replies to it and then it's locked in digital stone for eternity.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:41 PM ^
replied on my speeling on purpose lmao I am just joking really. Thanks I will now prrof read all my post from here on out just to be safe.
February 20th, 2012 at 10:14 PM ^
February 20th, 2012 at 10:21 PM ^
February 20th, 2012 at 7:34 PM ^
All this talk of getting better seeds if such and such loses to such and such but if team x beats team y we get a 3 seed makes my head hurt. Just play BASKETBALL and the rest will figure itself out
February 20th, 2012 at 7:29 PM ^
Hoosiers Chris come on.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:26 PM ^
I salute and congratulate them as a good team. I don't resent them, or wish them harm, or care about how what Michigan [State] does affects them.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:47 PM ^
Yeah, but you don't count. You're our resident agreeable Michigan State fan and we prefer to think of you as one of the few unique specimens we have in captivity. :)
I will say that I was pretty happy for MSU's team to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to play in front of the president and our armed forces on a fkn AIRCRAFT CARRIER. I was just as happy of course that they lost.
February 20th, 2012 at 8:04 PM ^
Well thanks, but I'm not unique at all. If you all would quit reading RCMB as if it is some exclusive and authentic compendium of MSU opinion/behavior, and instead read other places like The Only Colors, you'd find that I'm more common that you think. There are some outstanding MSU grads out there. Some of them are here too. (See Rational Spartan, GoBlogSparty, etc...) Hell, even SpartanDan over at TOC has posted here in the past.
That aircraft carrier game was sweet, and I think our young guys played very well against an elite Carolina team. I also think they showed glimpses in that game of what they were to become.
February 20th, 2012 at 8:12 PM ^
All very true, I was mostly being facetious, which didn't come out in my post... but yes - The Only Colors is a fantastic blog and community.
Are there plans for a repeat game with MSU and some other top team in some other off-the-wall venue? Like maybe next year, MSU plays Duke on a platform suspended from the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge or something.
February 20th, 2012 at 9:03 PM ^
Maybe MSU and Duke could play on top of a submarine while it's submerged at the bottom of the Artic Circle.
February 21st, 2012 at 7:58 AM ^
February 20th, 2012 at 7:51 PM ^
These last two season have me really disliking Iowa. What if for football and basketball?
February 20th, 2012 at 7:55 PM ^
Iowa has been a thorn in our teams sides of late. We will hopefully get them in the Big Ten Tournament and for sure at the Big House next season.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:55 PM ^
I don't know much about Izzo and his on court demeanor makes me less than enthused. I want the spartans to lose to Michigan every time they play. But if they win the BIg Ten conference they deserve a number one seed. They will also be a very tough out for any team that will face them. They are big, physical and have in my opinion the best "team" basketball player in the college game right now in Draymond Green.
This just feels like another final four year for them. I just get this Draymond Green won't let them lose feeling about this team. Plus their team of two front line just seems so physical and can score on occasion. They have the feel of a team that is built to do well in the NCAA tournament. That has been Izzo's signature in my opinion. Recruit guys who want rebounds, fight for every ball, get defensively in your face and have one consistent scorer you can rely on when it gets tough.
Having said all that how good a coach is JB? This is a team without a single five star recruit. They don't even have a single four star in their starting line up. Yet they are one game back of the big ten title and have beaten MSU and OSU in the same year. When he has the type of recruits Izzo has - MSU is going to be in a real dog fight.
February 20th, 2012 at 7:59 PM ^
I can't help but feel like they have peaked a bit early though. Their guard play could end up being the thing that is just not quite good enough on the national stage. That said, they will be a tough out.
February 20th, 2012 at 8:14 PM ^
right the game yesterday against Purdue was close at half actually Purdue was up 5 at half. But Green went off I mean he was a man on a mission and no one was gonna stop him not even Robbie Hummel. He just took over and ended that game and it was scary watching this team and him get serious after we beat them at home. They have been on fire since that game and Green has a lot to do with this turn around.
February 20th, 2012 at 8:48 PM ^
If Michigan were to somehow win the rest of their B1G games, in spite of 3 road games AND win the B1G tourney, what's the highest seed we could get to? 2? 1?
Considering the context of the current Michigan athletics situation, we might as well consider the best case scenario.
February 20th, 2012 at 9:32 PM ^
far we would go in the Big Ten Tournament I mean if we win all four of the regular season games win a share of a Big Ten title then lose our first game in the second round of the tournament then no way. We win all 4 regular season games and make it to at least the finals of the tournament and win or lose then I honestly cant see why not a 1 seed couldnt be achieved, At the worst case a number 2 would have to come if we can get to the finals of the tournament. But I mean this is a huge task to even get in the conversation for a 1 or 2 seed. But its great to even be able to think that we could get that high. In 1998 winning the Big Ten tournament got us a 3 seed and this team has a better resume than that team did IMO. So lets keep winning and see what other pieces fall into place.
February 20th, 2012 at 10:21 PM ^
"...we no longer can deny a clear leader of the nation's No. 1 conference."
Until Michigan wins the regular season and tourney titles, and it is at that point that you will deny the best conference's champion a 1-seed. This is the exact opposite of what would happen to an SEC Football champion.
February 20th, 2012 at 10:43 PM ^
February 20th, 2012 at 10:58 PM ^
Every once in a while, you help out little bro when you have a chance. Just to remind them that you're there.
February 21st, 2012 at 10:56 AM ^
Your post is thoughtful, insightful and honest. UM may very well be as good or better than MSU right now though. The fact that MSU's win came last and return of key personnel to form point to MSU. However the recent improvement in Hardaway's play and at least the hint that Smot is improving to last year's form signal an improvement by UM as well. Hopefully we'll get a best of 3 match in Indy next month. To UM's benefit the recognition by ESPN is now a #1 seed based on its BIG lead and a split with UM would predict a #1 seed for UM if they win out and beat MSU in the tournament. Who would have ever imagined that. .
February 21st, 2012 at 11:13 AM ^
Wow, isn't is amazing that we can even talk about 1 or 2 seeds and B1G Championships. A lot has changed from death penalty days of the NIT.
I Believe in Beilein.