Michigan State earns No. 4 seed, double-bye in Big Ten Tournament
Parity has reigned in the Big Ten Conference over the course of the 2022-23 men's basketball season, and that was reflected once again on the final weekend of the regular season.
After the dust settled from another wild and unpredictable final two days, Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans found themselves as the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
The Spartans will enjoy a double-bye and advance directly to the tournament's quarterfinals on Friday, where they await either fifth-seeded Iowa or the winner of the 12th-seeded Wisconsin and 13th-seeded Ohio State.
The Badgers and Buckeyes will open the Big Ten Tournament at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to face the Hawkeyes on Thursday. Michigan State will play the winner of that game at roughly 3 p.m. on Friday.
Michigan State and Minnesota were the only two Big Ten teams who were unable to play a full, 20-game conference schedule this season, due to the Feb. 15 matchup between the Spartans and Golden Gophers being cancelled following the tragic shooting on campus in East Lansing on Feb. 13.
The cancellation of that game, which would have been played at Michigan State, had an impact on seeding for the Big Ten Tournament. Had the Spartans beaten Minnesota, they would have earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Had the Gophers beaten Michigan State, then the Spartans would have been the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
