Tag: ESPN bracketology

Joe Lunardi: One more win should get Spartans into NCAA Tournament

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has the Spartans as one of his last four teams in the field of his most recent bracketology.

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Whether you like him or not, Joe Lunardi is the OG for bracketology and he believes it’ll take just one more win for the Spartans to make the NCAA Tournament.

After an embarrassing loss to Michigan on Thursday night, Michigan State fans may have begun wondering if the Spartans still were in play to make the NCAA Tournament. Joe Lunardi of ESPN was fielding questions from fans on Twitter late on Thursday and addressed what the Spartans still need to do to be part of March Madness. Here’s what Lunardi had to say:

The question is in regards to the Big Ten Tournament should Michigan State lose the season finale to Michigan on Sunday, but I’m assuming a victory over the Wolverines would also do the trick. The Spartans most likely will face Maryland or Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament so it would take a big win either way.

Lunardi currently has the Spartans as one of the last four teams in the field of his most recent bracketology that was updated on Friday morning.

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MSU Basketball projected to be a First Four team in latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology

In ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology predictions, he has Michigan State making the tournament as a play-in team.

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Michigan State Basketball has stumbled through this season, and there is some growing concern that they may have to fight for their lives to stay in the NCAA Tournament, which would be a big shock for a team coming off a string of Big Ten Championships.

In his latest prediction, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi does have MSU making the Tournament, at least in their first four game to kick things off. At No. 44 overall, he has the Spartans in a play-in game to make their way into the field of 64.

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Michigan State listed as one of last teams in field in ESPN’s latest bracketology

Michigan State’s lengthy NCAA Tournament streak is at risk this year, with the Spartans squarely on the bubble with two months to go.

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Michigan State’s lengthy NCAA Tournament streak is at risk this year, with the Spartans squarely on the bubble with about two months to go until Selection Sunday.

The Spartans find themselves as one of the last at-large teams in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology published on ESPN on Friday. Lunardi has Michigan State as a No. 10 seed, and as the second to last team in his last four byes section.

You can see Lunardi’s complete bracket projection by clicking here.

Michigan State had once been listed as a No. 1 seed by Lunardi in mid-December, but has quickly dropped all the way to the bubble after losing four of their last six games.

Due to positive COVID-19 cases in the basketball program, Michigan State has been forced to postpone a pair of games this week, and is tentatively scheduled to return to the court on Jan. 23 against Illinois. Another loss could just drop the Spartans out of the NCAA Tournament field in Lunardi’s next bracket projection.

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Wisconsin basketball falls behind three Big Ten teams in the latest ESPN Bracketology

The Badgers fall in the latest ESPN Bracketology

ESPN’s latest Bracketology column was released yesterday, and Wisconsin basketball moved down slightly following an upset loss to Maryland, an easy win over Minnesota, and an overtime win over Indiana. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected the Badgers to be a No. 3 seed, while having three other Big Ten teams on the No. 2 line.

Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan were all listed as No. 2 seeds in the latest bracket, a bracket that had ten total Big Ten teams included. The Big Ten had more teams in than any other conference, and had a pair of squads on the bubble with Northwestern in the first four out and Maryland falling in the next four out.

Lunardi’s bracket had Wisconsin in a region with Gonzaga as the No. 1 seed, and Kansas as the No. 2 seed. The Badgers will look to get themselves back on the two line with a win at Michigan this Tuesday.

 

Texas moves up to a one seed in latest ESPN Bracketology

In ESPN’s latest Bracketology, Texas has risen all the way up to a one seed. The Longhorns are one of six Big 12 teams in the field of 68.

Coming into the season, Shaka Smart’s seat was rather hot. The sixth-year head coach was on track to miss another NCAA Tournament in 2019-2020 before COVID-19 shut down the season. However, the year ended with momentum and the Longhorns have been able to carry that over to 2020-2021.

Now, they are off to their best start since Smart took over. Texas is 9-1 overall with their only loss coming to No. 3 Villanova. In the Big 12, they are 3-0 with wins over Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Iowa State. Stars Greg Brown, Matt Coleman, and Courtney Ramey have shined while role players such as Jericho Sims and Kai Jones have taken the next step.

In Joe Lunardi and ESPN’s latest Bracketology, Texas has risen all the way up to a one seed. Rice would be the opponent in the famous 1-16 matchup. Old Southwest Conference rival Arkansas is a hypothetical second-round matchup, while Oklahoma State is the only other Big 12 team in Texas’ bracket.

Here is the full region:

The NCAA announced the entire tournament would be held in the state of Indiana for coronavirus reasons. Dates, locations, and times have yet to be announced.

If Texas were to be a one seed in the tournament, it would be the first time since 2003 when they made the Final Four. Sophomore T.J. Ford led the way, averaging 15.0 points and 7.7 assists throughout the year.

There is a long season ahead of the Longhorns are remaining one of the top four teams in the tournament will be tough. Especially in a conference like the Big 12.

Michigan State drops in latest bracket projection from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi

MSU were previously listed as a No. 1 seed by Lunardi, and now it’ll take an amazing turnaround to even sniff the one line anytime soon.

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Michigan State is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and this recent slump has resulted in the Spartans plummeting in ESPN’s most recent NCAA Tournament bracket projection.

The Spartans have fallen to a No. 8 seed in ESPN’s most recent bracketology release. Joe Lunardi — the man behind the bracket projection — listed MSU as the No. 30 team in the country in a tweet expanding upon his most recent projection.

Losing three straight games will certainly hurt anyone’s seed in the bracket, but it’s pretty incredible to see the kind of drop MSU has experienced in recent weeks. Just a few weeks ago, the Spartans were pegged as a No. 1 seed by Lunardi, and now it’ll take an amazing turnaround to even sniff the one line anytime soon.

In total, Lunardi has 11 of the 14 Big Ten teams in his bracket projection, which just further proves how deep the league is this year. His highest-ranked Big Ten team is Wisconsin, who is sitting just outside the one line as a No. 2 seed.

Click here to see the complete most recent bracket on ESPN.

MSU returns to the court on Saturday at Nebraska. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

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MSU Basketball moves up in latest bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi

It’s never to early to start looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament, right?

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It’s never to early to start looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament, right? Maybe December is a smidge-bit early for most, but for me I can’t get enough of bracketology/bracket predictions so it’s only fitting to see where the original bracketologist has the Spartans.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN has already released a few bracket projections so far this season, and his most recent one — published on Tuesday — has Michigan State sitting as a No. 1 seed. The Spartans had been listed as a No. 3 seed in his previous bracket, which was published on Dec. 1.

Click here to see Lunardi’s entire bracket.

There were a total of 10 Big Ten teams listed in Lunardi’s most recent bracket, which ranks as the most of any conference in all of college basketball. Here’s a breakdown of each Big Ten team in the bracket or just outside the bracket:

  • Michigan State (No. 1 seed)
  • Iowa (No. 2 seed)
  • Illinois (No. 3 seed)
  • Wisconsin (No. 3 seed)
  • Ohio State (No. 5 seed)
  • Indiana (No. 6 seed)
  • Michigan (No. 6 seed)
  • Rutgers (No. 7 seed)
  • Maryland (No. 10 seed)
  • Purdue (No. 11 seed)
  • Minnesota (Next Four Out)

The Spartans are off to a great start this season, winning each of their first five games. Two of those wins have came against ACC opponents in Notre Dame and previously-No. 6 Duke.

MSU’s game against No. 18 Virginia scheduled for Wednesday was postponed so the Spartans will next hit the floor on Sunday against Oakland. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 12 p.m. ET and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

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Wisconsin no longer the highest Big Ten seed in ESPN’s latest ‘Bracketology’

The Badgers fall as other Big Ten opponents rise

Even before a major day of Big Ten basketball news, ESPN college basketball insider Joe Lunardi moved the Badgers down in his latest round of bracketology. Wisconsin enters in as a three seed in the south region after previously being listed on the two line.

The new top two Big Ten squads in the bracket are the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan State Spartans. Iowa is a team that just got the 2019 Big Ten Player of the Year back in Luka Garza for his senior season. The Hawkeyes are on the two line in the west region, while Michigan State is the lone Big Ten team on the one seed level. The Big Ten leads the way in the latest edition of Bracketology with nine teams in the field of 68.

Here is a full Big Ten list of where teams fall in the bracket:

Michigan State – 1 seed

Iowa – 2 seed 

Wisconsin – 3 seed 

Ohio State – 4 seed 

Michigan – 6 seed

Rutgers – 7 seed

Purdue – 7 seed

Indiana – 9 seed 

Illinois – 9 seed 

 

Ohio State in bubble territory in latest NCAA Tournament projections

After another loss, Ohio State has slid down most NCAA Tournament projections. It is near bubble territory in the latest ESPN Bracketology.

It’s hard to believe, but the Ohio State basketball team is getting dangerously close to not making the NCAA Tournament. With each passing loss, the Buckeyes slide further and further down the tournament seed line when it comes to projections.

The good news is that somehow OSU is still in the field in almost all projections after losing six of its last nine games. The bad news is that it has slid all the way down to a No. 7 seed in the latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology piece that gets updated as results happen.

It has been as surprising to see this team fall all over itself the last few weeks as it has been watching it rise to the pinnacle of the college basketball world nine to twelve games into the season. And if it doesn’t find some way to right the ship from here on out, we might be talking about an NIT appearance as opposed to a dance in March.

This will all change, but right now Lunardi has Ohio State in the Midwest region playing St. Mary’s in Cleveland. Kansas, Dayton, Michigan State, and Villanova are the top four seeds projected in that region.