See where the Spartans landed in the latest bracketology update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi
Michigan State basketball held its first practice of the 2025-26 season on Monday so, of course, we have to already look ahead to the NCAA Tournament that’s still six months away.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is already looking ahead to the 2026 NCAA Tournament with a batch of preseason bracketology that he released on Tuesday. His NCAA Tournament projection, to no surprise, includes Michigan State, with the Spartans safely in the field of 68.
Michigan State came in as a No. 6 seed in the West Region in Lunardi’s update bracket projection. That is a spot lower than Lunardi’s most recent bracket update. The Spartans are projected to play No. 11 seed Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This matchup would take place in St. Louis in Lunardi’s projected bracket.
From my point of view, this seems like a fair preseason projection for the Spartans, who should come into the season as a fringe top 20 team nationally. Ideally, Michigan State would play above that seed line throughout the season but in comparing to preseason expectations, this seems about right for the Spartans.
Click on the social media post below to see the complete bracketology prediction from Lunardi:
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