The path to a 27th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance continues for Michigan State Basketball.
Tom Izzo has his team on a distinctly upward trajectory, winning seven straight games and climbing to 15th in the standings. USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll last week. The question right now – like almost every January for the past three decades – is not whether the Spartans will make the big dance, but rather where they will land and be seeded on Selection Sunday from March 16.
Each week, the Free Press will look back at the Spartans’ previous week and evaluate how their resume has changed and compares to the competition.
BIG IMPROVEMENT: Surprising, Szymon Zapala shines as Michigan State basketball big men continue to deliver
Michigan State Basketball NCAA Tournament Summary for March Madness 2025
NET Rank: #22 (last week: #24)
All rankings enter Sunday.
Quad 1 recording: 2-2
Quad 2 recording: 2-0
Quad 3 recording: 3-0
Quad 4 recording: 5-0
KenPom ranking: No. 17 (last week: No. 20)
All rankings enter Sunday.
Offensive efficiency: No. 36
Defensive efficiency: No. 11
Bracketology projections
ESPN: 5 seeds in the East region: Newark (as of January 3).
Le3: 5 seeds in the Midwest region: Indianapolis (as of January 5).
CBS: 8 seeds in the Midwest region: Lexington (as of January 3)
Bracketology T3: 5 seeds (as of December 15).
How the NCAA Tournament Committee Selects At-Large Teams
Save: The team’s overall record, conference record and non-conference record.
Strength of schedule: The strength of the opponents the team played against.
Head-to-head results: Match results between teams compared.
Conference Championships: Whether a conference championship was won in the regular season or tournament.
Common adversaries: Results of matches against common opponents.
Adjusted net efficiency (NET): The NCAA’s preferred metric measuring 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 formula that ranks teams based on a team’s winning percentage, opponents’ success, and opponents’ strength of schedule.
Michigan State Basketball Results Last Week
December 30: 80-62 home victory against Western Michigan – Former longtime Izzo assistant Dwayne Stephens brought his Broncos to the Breslin Center for the first time, and the Spartans struggled with their stamina early after a nine-day Christmas layoff. Izzo wasn’t happy with his team’s increasing turnovers and rebounding struggles, but Jaden Akins had 18 points and Carson Cooper scored a career-high 13 among six players to reach eight points as MSU pulled away in the second half . The Spartans had a 41-18 bench advantage and shot 20-for-22 from the free throw line.
January 3: 69-62 road victory at Ohio State — The Spartans returned to Big Ten play with a second conference road victory and their seventh straight to improve to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in league play. It was a standout performance from transfer center Szymon Zapala, who got his MSU-best 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting and scored eight in a row on the final score of the first half and the first three of the second. Xavier Booker made a three-point play and an alley-oop dunk sandwiched around a three-point dagger from Tre Holloman as part of an 8-0 run after the Buckeyes rallied from down 14 to take a brief lead with 8:45 to play. The Spartans again struggled on the outside (3-for-18) and with turnovers (16), but they didn’t give up the ball in the final 7:59 and finished 18-for-22 at the line free throws.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State Basketball’s NCAA Tournament Summary for March Madness
