Last week, we started our offseason series of ranking the best Michigan men’s basketball players since the first time the Wolverines won a national championship back in 1989 to celebrate a 37-year history of Michigan basketball between titles. Today, we look at the next tier up, and it’s a significant one from our scoring model from a batch of already quality list of players in the first rendition of this series.
Michigan
Where is Michigan State basketball in March Madness bracketology?
One week remains in the regular season. And Michigan State basketball is right where Tom Izzo almost always has his program.
With an NCAA tournament berth all but assured. And in the lead for a Big Ten title.
The Spartans could wrap up a share of the league crown Wednesday if Michigan loses at home to Maryland. If that happens, Izzo could claim his fourth outright championship with a win Thursday at Iowa.
There is more at stake beyond the regular season in the coming days, though: a potential No. 1 seed in March Madness.
The Spartans (24-5, 15-3 Big Ten) continue to roll with a five-game win streak all coming against Quad 1 opponents, and they are angling for Izzo’s fifth top seed in what will be his record 27th straight Big Dance appearance. MSU’s last No. 1 seed came in 2012, a run that ended with a Sweet 16 loss to Louisville; the other three (1999, 2000, 2001) resulted in three straight Final Four appearances and Izzo’s only national title.
A loss to the struggling Hawkeyes (15-14, 6-12) could prove catastrophic to that pursuit for one of the top four spots on Selection Sunday. But if the Spartans win to secure at least a share of the Big Ten’s regular-season title in Iowa City, they will return home with an opportunity to bolster their case for a No. 1 seed with a season sweep of the Wolverines (22-7, 14-4), whose league title hopes are fading after losing Sunday at home to Illinois. Maryland (22-7, 12-6) provides another challenge Wednesday.
The importance of Sunday’s rivalry renewal will be known by Friday morning. And then comes the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis, where the Spartans won’t play until Day 3 in the quarterfinal on March 14, needing three more victories to extend Izzo’s tourney title record to seven and secure the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday.
Let’s look at MSU’s résumé entering the week:
Michigan State basketball March Madness bracketology
There are a number of criteria the NCAA tournament selection committee looks at in order to make its assessment in addition to subjective assessments like the “eyeball test.” Among them:
Record: The team’s overall record, conference record and nonconference record.
Strength of schedule: The strength of the teams the team played against.
Head-to-head results: The results of games between the teams being compared.
Conference championships: The number of conference championships won.
Common opponents: The results of games against common opponents.
Adjusted Net Efficiency (NET): A measure of 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 computer program that calculates a team’s winning percentage, opponents’ success and opponents’ strength of schedule.
Michigan State NET rankings: No. 11 (began last week No. 14)
All rankings through Sunday’s games.
Quad 1 record: 10-3
Quad 2 record: 5-2
Quad 3 record: 4-0
Quad 4 record: 5-0
Michigan State KenPom rankings: No. 9 (began last week No. 10)
All rankings through Sunday’s games.
Offensive efficiency: No. 32
Defensive efficiency: No. 5
Michigan State bracketology projections
USA TODAY: 2-seed in Midwest Region: Indianapolis (as of Feb. 28)
ESPN: 2-seed in South Region: Atlanta (as of Feb. 28)
CBS: 2-seed in South Region: Atlanta (as of March 2)
Fox Sports: 2-seed (as of March 2)
On3: 2-seed in South Region: Atlanta (as of March 2)
BracketMatrix.com: 2-seed (as of March 2)
Michigan State basketball schedule this week
Thursday: at Iowa (15-14, 6-12), 8 p.m., FS1, Iowa City.
Sunday: Michigan (22-7, 14-4), noon, CBS, East Lansing.
Michigan State basketball scores last week
Feb. 26: 58-55 road win at Maryland – The Spartans trailed by two at halftime in a game that went back and forth all night. The Terrapins had a chance in the waning seconds after a Jaxon Kohler missed layup, but Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s 3-point attempt clanged off the rim. It kicked hard to Kohler who flipped it to Tre Holloman, who launched a 60-foot swish for a 3-pointer to win it as the buzzer sounded. The Spartans overcame another poor shooting performance by smothering Maryland to 4-for-20 from 3-point range and outrebounding the Terps, 45-33, and got 10 second-chance points on 13 offensive boards to Maryland’s zero on just four offensive rebounds. Jase Richardson led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points as MSU also had a 23-0 bench scoring advantage.
March 2: 71-62 home win over No. 11 Wisconsin – As they did at Maryland, the Spartans got points from all 10 players in the regular rotation for the 18th time this season. Jaden Akins broke a shooting slump with four first-half 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 19 points, but it was the senior’s defense on Badgers star John Tonje (3-for-13, 11 points) that made the biggest impact. Richardson added 11 points, while Kohler set a career high with 16 rebounds, tying his personal best seven on the offensive glass, and added 10 points for his seventh double-double this season. It was MSU’s fifth straight win and sixth in the past seven games.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
No. 22 – F Morez Johnson Jr. – Score: 78.4
The first player from Michigan’s 2025-26 team has made it on the list, and it’s the bodyguard himself, Morez Johnson Jr. His stint in Ann Arbor was short, but impactful. After transferring in from Illinois, he found his way into a starting lineup with two other players 6-foot-9 or taller in Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara. The trio wreaked havoc all season long thanks to their length and athleticism in a scheme tailor-made by head coach Dusty May.
Johnson was one of the most efficient players in the country, averaging 13.1 points per game on a 62.3 percent clip. He also led the team with 7.3 rebounds per game and was commonly considered one of the best defensive players on the floor with his ability to guard all five positions. He was a Second-Team All-Big Ten and was on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team as well.
No. 21 – F Deshawn Sims – Score: 78.9
In the transition from Tommy Amaker to John Beilein, Deshawn Sims was a part of a special group that propelled the program to relevancy again. Sims was the 19th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points, and the 15th to surpass 700 rebounds. Consistency was key, as he played in 129 consecutive games over four seasons, starting 92 of them.
Everything came together for the Wolverines in the 2008-09 season when Sims and co-star Manny Harris led the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade. The team underperformed in 2009-10, but Sims’ play stayed consistent.
Along with the elite company Sims established with his longevity, he was also a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and averaged 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game over his final two seasons.
No. 20 – F Ray Jackson – Score: 81.6
Not only did we have the introduction to the 2026 championship team, but this stretch also introduces us to the Fab Five with forward Ray Jackson, the final member of the historic 1991 class.
Jackson not only has the pedigree tied to the culture that surrounded the Fab Five and their two runner-up finishes in the NCAA Tournament, but he was also a great player. One could argue he was the most unheralded of the bunch and deserves more credit than he does. Somehow, he was only a two-time All-Big Ten performer, but he averaged 17.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his final three seasons with the program.
He ascended from the last of the Fab Five to a premier Big Ten player during his four-year career, helping guide Maurice Taylor — an honorable mention in this series — to being a member of the All-Big Ten freshman team when Jackson was a senior.
Jackson’s impact was profound, not just for his role in the Fab Five but for the transition out of it with future players who had impossible shoes to fill. The Wolverines not only stayed afloat, but remained tournament teams in the years following, which would have meant more had that era not been tarnished with “scandal” for a fraction of what is being done today in the NIL world.
- The Top 25 Michigan men’s basketball players since 1989: No. 25-23
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As temperatures rise in Michigan each summer, so to do the chances of harmful algal blooms (HABs) developing in our lakes, causing a risk to both ecosystems and public health.
HABs are formed wherever there is rapid growth of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which are naturally found in lakes, rivers and ponds. Some cyanobacteria found in blooms contain toxins that can be harmful to people and animals, and often present as blue-green, yellow or brown streaks, foam, or thick paint-like scums on the water surface, according to the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
To help keep track of these harmful algal blooms across the state, EGLE has teamed up with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to update its online reporting form to include harmful algal blooms. Now the public can easily report suspected HABs to the state by filling out the form at Michigan.gov/HABs. Individuals can also make a report by calling EGLE’s Environmental Assistance Center at 800-662-9278.
“This new online form is an easy and efficient way for Michiganders to help monitor and safeguard our water resources,” said Jerrod Sanders, director of Water Resources Division at EGLE, in a news release. “This tool improves efficiency and helps us respond to potential risks more effectively.”
It will also allow EGLE and MDHHS staff to better understand how HABs develop, and creates the potential to send out public notifications about what areas to avoid as a way of keeping people and pets safe when they’re detected.
Breathing in or swallowing water with HAB toxins can cause asthma-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, runny eyes and nose, weakness, headaches or dizziness. Skin contact can also cause rashes, blisters or hives.
“If you had contact with or swallowed water with a suspected HAB and feel sick, call your health care provider or seek medical attention as soon as possible,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive.
Locations of HAB reports verified by EGLE and results of cyanotoxin testing will be displayed on the Michigan Harmful Algal Bloom Reports Map for the public to review.
For more information on health effects, causes and reports on the occurrence of HABs in Michigan lakes, visit Michigan.gov/HABs.
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