When Michigan State fell in an embarrassing 68-60 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes earlier this week, it seemed like some of the highest-hopes that the Spartans held for themselves in the upcoming postseason would be completely out of reach--but on Wednesday, something unexpected happened...
The No. 4 Wolverines (23-5, 10-5 Big Ten) suffered a devastating upset loss to the lowly Penn State Nittany Lions who had yet to win a Big Ten match up in this season.
Couple that with a surprising 77-73 defeat for No. 1 Indiana (24-4, 12-3) at the hands of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and you've got the makings of a unique opportunity for No. 9 Michigan State (22-6, 11-4) to slip their way back into the good graces of a possible No. 1-seeding for the NCAA tournament.
At the moment, Michigan State now lies alongside Indiana and rival Michigan in their hope to be awarded a coveted No. 1 seed now that each of these teams has suffered a somewhat-embarrassing and unexpected upset loss at the hands of a Big Ten foe. Most-likely, the Hoosiers are still in the best situation to nab a top seed, while USA Today ranked Michigan State as a top seed and CBSSports.com saw it fit to award that honor to the Wolverines, despite their defeat at the hands of Penn State.
And let us not forget that the Wolverine-slaying Wisconsin Badgers (20-8, 11-4) are also still in the mix for a chance at a No. 1 seed, as well.
Joe Lunardi, of ESPN, agrees that Indiana would likely take the top seed, while Michigan and Michigan State would probably end up with a No. 2 seed, depending on where and how the rest of the season plays out.
You can follow MSU Examiner, Michael Ferro, at twitter.com/MichaelFerro.
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