Michigan State and the University of Michigan’s men’s and women’s basketball teams both compete in the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) Tournament every year with 350 other College Basketball teams. Both schools have also been very successful.
Michigan State’s men’s basketball team under head coach Tom Izzo has made 25 straight NCAA March Madness appearances while MSU’s women’s team just hired a new head coach.
Michigan’s women’s basketball team made the Elite Eight two years ago and also has made March Madness five of the last six years. Michigan’s men’s basketball team also is trying to bounce back after not making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015.
This year March Madness will host their selection show on Tues., March 17 where they will decide who does and doesn’t make the tournament based on how every team did throughout the season. Here is what it is looking like right now for Michigan and Michigan State’s mens and womens college basketball teams so far before the tournament starts.
Starting with Michigan—the Wolverines have had both their ups and downs throughout the last 10 years. Michigan’s basketball team is led under head coach Juwan Howard who took over after the Wolverines made the Final Four. But Howard has struggled keeping most of Michigan’s previous starters on their team including their star player Hunter Dickinson who know currently plays for Kansas. Now Michigan is relying on Dug McDaniel who made a good first impression last year averaging 8.6 points per game to get the Wolverines going. With a lack of depth though, the Wolverines find themselves at the very bottom of the Big Ten standings with their rivals Ohio State. Michigan only has one ranked win all year so they are going to have to get things going if they want any chance to make March Madness this year.
Meanwhile, about 65 miles west of Ann Arbor are the Michigan State Spartans, who are led by Head Coach Tom Izzo. Izzo has not only led Michigan State to 25 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, but he has also led the Spartans to eight Final Fours, 10 conference championships and one National Championship. This year the Spartans returned some of their best players from 2023, including Tyson Walker, AJ Hoggard and Malik Hall. They also added more depth to their team by getting Jeremy Fears and Xavier Booker. Michigan State was not only a preseason top-10 team but also a team that looked like they had the depth to win it all. So far though, that has not been the case. Even though as of now, Michigan State is projected to be a seven seed, the Spartans aren’t as good as they looked. With only one ranked win and several close losses, Michigan State finds itself in the middle of the Big Ten standings, hoping they can do more than make the NCAA Tournament for the 26th straight year, but to win it all.
For Michigan’s women’s basketball team, all they need to do is get through that final punch. With only a few more games remaining and Michigan’s women’s team projected to be one of the first teams out of the bracket, Michigan needs to take a deep breath and hope they can sneak in. If Michigan wants to sneak in though it will be asking a lot of them. With six games remaining, two of those games remaining are against ranked teams including a home game against a talented middle-of-the-pack Michigan State team who smoked Michigan back in East Lansing 82-61. Michigan is also going to play Iowa who is ranked the number two team in the country and has one of the best players the basketball world has ever seen—Caitlin Clark. Yeah, good luck. And another road top-five game against the Buckeyes at the horseshoe doesn’t make things that much easier. Especially since the Buckeyes are looking for revenge after getting beat in Ann Arbor 69-60. If Michigan wants to sneak in, they are going to have to find a way to make the impossible possible by doing things no one thought they could do.
Ever since Michigan State’s women’s basketball team had Suzy Merchant as their head coach, everything was safe. Merchant, who coached from 2007-2023, held a 327-187 ( 63.6% ) record and also held a 159-112 conference record ( 58.6% ). But last offseason, Merchant decided enough was enough and she had to focus on her health. After only having one NCAA Tournament win since 2017, maybe that is a good thing. In deciding to pick a new women’s head basketball coach, Michigan State decided on Robyn Fralick. They couldn’t have picked better. Fralick finished with a 104-3 record at Ashland before moving up to Bowling Green. After a slow start, Fralick got her Eagles rolling as she won Mid American Conference ( MAC ) Coach of the Year in the 2020-2021 season. Then just last year, she led Bowling Green to a 31-7 record including winning almost 10 games against teams with more than 20 wins in the regular season. Deciding to take the next step, Fralick joined Michigan State, which has already had one of their best years in a long time. Fralick looks like she is leading the Spartans in the right direction. Projected to be a seven seed in the women’s March Madness tournament it can’t get any better for Fralick and her Spartans.
For more information on March Madness for both Women’s and Men’s college basketball check out beaconjournal.com and nbcconneticut.com.
