Community Picks: Middle Tenn St 0% vs Michigan State 0%

Michigan State is making its 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Coach Tom Izzo knows the pedigree won't do much good in Friday's matchup against Middle Tennessee State. ''We're in a baseball city,'' Izzo said Thursday as his second-seeded Spartans prepared for the Blue Raiders. Continue to Article

March 17, 2016 5:12:pm EST

Deyonta Davis is not impressive on paper. Davis has been relatively under the radar for Michigan State by ranking fifth in scoring and third in rebounding. Davis was part of a made-for-the highlights play in the Big Ten Tournament final, soaring to slam a lob that Denzel Valentine flipped from near the floor late in a win over Purdue. Continue to Article

March 15, 2016 7:31:pm EST

Tom Izzo paced back and forth, balling his hands into fists, and nodding his head with approval at a defensive stop. With hip hop music blaring and bouncing off walls at a recent practice, Michigan State players spread out over two courts to take shots at the line. ''Make some free throws!'' Izzo screamed before making many of his own free throws as part of his regular routine. Continue to Article

March 14, 2016 6:33:pm EST

[ Play Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick'em now | Printable bracket ] When CBS revealed the four No. 1 seeds at the start of Sunday's selection show, the biggest surprise was that Michigan State was not among them. The Big Ten tournament champion Spartans (29-5) were snubbed in favor of ACC runner-up Virginia (26-7). Michigan State's exclusion was unexpected because the Spartans had eight RPI top 50 victories and reeled off 13 wins in their final 14 games to finish the season. Virginia had a more impressive collection of victories than Michigan State, but the Cavaliers lost to four teams not expected to make the NCAA tournament and failed to win either the ACC's regular season or tournament title.  Joining Virginia on the top seed line are ACC champion North Carolina (28-6), Pac-12 champion Oregon (28-6) and Big 12 champion Kansas (30-4). Michigan State and fellow No. 1 seed contender Villanova (29-5) will presumably fall to the No. 2 line. The race for the final No. 1 seeds isn't as important as previous years because of the scant margin between the top dozen teams in the field. There's no 2009 North Carolina or 2015 Kentucky, season-long juggernauts whom other contenders were eager to avoid for as long as possible. Last year's four No. 1 seeds entered the NCAA tournament with a mere nine losses between them. This year's quartet suffered a total of 23 losses. South region: 1. Kansas (30-4) 16. Austin Peay (18-17) 8. Colorado (22-11) 9. Connecticut (24-10) 5. Maryland (25-8) 12. South Dakota State (26-7) 4. California (23-10) 13. Hawaii (27-5) 6. Arizona (25-8) 11. Vanderbilt/Wichita State 3. Miami (25-7) 14. Buffalo (20-14) 7. Iowa (21-10) 10. Temple (21-11) 2. Villanova (29-5) 15. UNC Asheville (22-11) West region: 1. Oregon (28-6) 16. Holy Cross/Southern 8. Saint Joseph's (27-7) 9. Cincinnati (22-10) 5. Baylor (22-11) 12. Yale (22-6) 4. Duke (23-10) 13. UNC Wilmington (25-7) 6. Texas (20-12) 11. Northern Iowa (22-12) 3. Texas A&M (26-8) 14. Green Bay (23-12) 7. Oregon State (19-12) 10. VCU (24-10) 2. Oklahoma (25-7) 15. Cal St. Bakersfield (24-8) East region: 1. North Carolina (28-6) 16. FGCU/Fairly Dickinson 8. USC (21-12) 9. Providence (23-10) 5. Indiana (25-7) 12. Chattanooga (29-5) 4. Kentucky (26-8) 13. Stony Brook (26-6) 6. Notre Dame (21-11) 11. Michigan/Tulsa 3. West Virginia (26-8) 14. S.F. Austin (27-5) 7. Wisconsin (20-12) 10. Pittsburgh (21-11) 2. Xavier (27-5) 15. Weber St. (26-8) Midwest region: 1. Virginia (26-7) 16. Hampton (21-10) 8. Texas Tech (19-12) 9. Butler (21-10) 5. Purdue (26-8) 12. Ark. Little Rock (29-4) 4. Iowa St. (21-11) 13. Iona (22-10) 6. Seton Hall (25-8) 11. Gonzaga (26-7) 3. Utah (26-8) 14. Fresno St. (25-9) 7. Dayton (25-7) 10. Syracuse (19-13) 2. Michigan St. (29-5) 15. MTSU (24-9) - - - - - - - Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @JeffEisenberg Continue to Article

March 13, 2016 5:51:pm EST