Is Michigan State Men's Basketball's Latest Seeding Fair?

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Michigan State as a 7-seed in his latest 2025 Bracketology predictions.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo watches a play against Mississippi State during the first half of NCAA tournament West Region first round at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday, March 21, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

There's a lot of uncertainty going into Michigan State men's basketball's 2024-25 season.

With its top scorers from last year now gone, younger players stepping into larger roles, two new transfers being added to the mix and a highly-anticipated freshmen class coming in, Coach Tom Izzo's next team is going to look much different.

According to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, though, as far as seeding goes, the Spartans will improve from last year.

Even so, his seeding for them is still a bit low.

In his latest Bracketology predictions, Lunardi has Michigan State as a projected 7-seed, playing 10-seeded Dayton in the Midwest region.

Overall, Lunardi has nine Big Ten teams making the tournament, including Purdue, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, UCLA, USC, Rutgers and Ohio State. Purdue and Indiana are the highest-seeded, with the Boilermakers as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest and Indiana as the No. 4 seed in the South.

Given the unpredictability surrounding the Spartans, along with the additions of four new Big Ten teams, Lunardi's projection for Izzo's squad seems fair.

The Spartans are in one of the most challenging conferences in college basketball, and they lack experience. The only true experience they have are in players like guard Jaden Akins and center Carson Cooper, who each still have yet to find their full potential.

You could say that transfer wing Frankie Fidler has a lot of experience, but he has yet to play in a Power Five conference, never mind a team that year after year is shouldered with high expectations.

So, yes, at this point in time, Lunardi's prediction is valid. And actually, it could even be considered a stretch.

Izzo has proven he can take any roster deep into the tournament, so I'm not, by any means, counting this team out. Right now, there just isn't enough there to tell me this team breaks free of the underwhelming seasons it has produced in recent years in 2024-25.

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