The Michigan State women’s basketball team was close to hosting the opening rounds of NCAA tournament at Breslin Center.
But the Spartans owning a 3-6 record since the start of February in addition to other results nationally bumped them from hosting as a No. 4 seed and moved them to being a 5 when the field was announced Sunday, March 15.
NCAA women’s basketball committee chair Amanda Braun indicated in an interview with Autumn Johnson of NCAA.com that late-season results mattered and helped teams like West Virginia, North Carolina and Minnesota earn opportunities to host as No. 4 seeds over MSU and the other No. 5 seeds Maryland, Kentucky and Ole Miss.
West Virginia won the Big 12 tournament after finishing a game behind regular season champion TCU to move into the top 16 after not being among the teams in the March 1 reveal. North Carolina won nine of its final 11 games with a win over Duke on March 1 while also moving into the top 16.
That was enough to vault both despite the Spartans finish ahead of both in the NCAA’s NET rankings, which are used by the committee in shaping the field. MSU ranked No. 17 in the NET, while West Virginia followed at 18 and North Carolina at 19. Maryland (No. 14) and Kentucky (No. 16) also had better NET rankings than West Virginia and North Carolina.
“Down the stretch they really won a lot of good, solid games against very good teams that gave them an edge to get in and have the opportunity to host,” Braun said of North Carolina.
As for Minnesota, who MSU beat 75-61 in Minneapolis on Feb. 22, Braun pointed to the Gophers’ strong finish giving them an edge to the committee. Minnesota, which was featured as a No. 4 seed in the March 1 reveal, won 10 of its final 12 games, including wins over other top-four seeds Iowa and Ohio State.
“Again, just really strong down the stretch,” Braun said of the Gophers. “They continued to improve their metrics, which were strong to begin with, and beat good teams. It was clear by the end of the season that they had earned that right (to host).”
The MSU women will face No. 12-seed Colorado State at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 20, in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Norman, Oklahoma. The game will be televised on ESPNews.
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Here’s why MSU women’s basketball ended up as No. 5 seed for NCAA tourney
Reporting by Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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