Ad Disclosure
Here’s where Michigan State, Indiana stand in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology following Spartans’ win over Hoosiers
Published:
Tuesday night was labeled a must-win for both Michigan State and Indiana. To the winner goes a boost to their NCAA tournament resume, while the loser is left having to make up a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
It was an ugly contest, but Michigan State escaped with a 64-58 home victory over Indiana, notching its third win in four games and improving to 14-10 on the season and 8-10 in B1G play. Indiana, on the other hand drops below .500 on the season to 12-13 and is now 7-11 in the conference.
Following Tuesday’s game, ESPN college basketball expert Joe Lunardi updated his bracketology. As you might be able to guess, Michigan State has wiggled its way back into the picture, while Indiana is falling further away from an at-large bid.
Michigan State is listed as a Last Four In team while Indiana is in the Next Four Out category.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 3, 2021
The Spartans still have two opportunities to improve their standing for an at-large bid before the B1G Tournament starts. Michigan State will have back-to-back games against No. 2 Michigan to close out the year. Win one of those, and Tom Izzo’s team would’ve beaten three Top 10 teams (No. 4 Illinois and No. 7 Ohio State) in the final six games.
IU has just one regular season game remaining on the schedule, a Saturday showdown against Purdue. The Hoosiers will have to win that game and probably at least make the championship game of the B1G Tournament to receive an at-large spot.
Archie Miller’s squad is one a four-game losing streak.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB