Spartan Hoopla: Michigan State Basketball's March Madness Forecast

With the month of March comes a new.

A new season begins, but that's not a reference to the change of winter to spring—it's a nod to March Madness. 

The regular season is nearly over for most, and now the "new" tournament season is being ushered in.

Just like any other sport, the difference between standard season play and postseason duels are that of day and night.

You can throw out all the records, streaks, and stats. The madness of March brings a different breed of ball club; from the complacent mid-majors that are happy to get a little exposure, to the powerhouse No. 1 seeds—everyone leaves Selection Sunday with a sense of duty: To see how far they'll go in the Big Dance.

The race to Indianapolis for all of the chips is a hot topic amongst fans, analysts, and critics.

Fans can be overly optimistic about their team's performance in the tournament, but that's okay, they're supposed to be. No real fan expects their team to get knocked out in the first-round of tourney play—that's the job of critics to deliver that bag of joy to them.

Analysts will nitpick every little stat, detail, and game performance and tweak it in one way or another to fit what most think the results of the madness will be.

Whichever way you slice it, March Madness leaves the public with more questions than answers. It's not until April all of the chitter-chatter, forecasts, and analysis comes to fruition.

Who was right?

Who was wrong?

None of that matters. The only thing that does matter is who's playing in the last three games of the season—the Final Four.

The Michigan State Spartans (12-4, 22-7) are a team that has left its fans scratching their heads in 2009-10.

After a hot 9-0 start, the club fizzled in the absence of its go-to-guy Kalin Lucas.

The Spartans have enough weapons to weather the upcoming storm, and Raymar Morgan is one of the Spartans' warriors that will be invaluable to Tom Izzo's bunch come March. Morgan is now a senior, and has a lot to live up to from his sophomore season's hype. It's your move, "captain," do your thing.

The Izzo clan has perhaps one of the hardest voyages to Indianapolis. 

This comes to no surprise, it seems that Sparty always has its work cut out for it come March.

First-round (64): Mississippi State (9-5, 21-8)

State's first-round duel will likely be the Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-8) of the SEC.

The Bulldogs don't pose much of a threat to Michigan State, but overlooking a No. 14 seed isn't in its best interest.

The Bulldogs' closest thing to a quality win was their Feb. 3 road loss to Vanderbilt. Mississippi State was able to take one of the SEC's premier teams down to the wire, but ultimately fell in the end, 75-72.

Mississippi State lacks both the depth and size to go toe-to-toe with Izzo's Spartans, so to forecast a first-round win wouldn't be a stretch.

Key wins

Mississippi and Georgia.

Second-round (32): Georgetown (9-8, 19-9)

Assuming that No. 5 Georgetown gets past No. 12 Cornell, it looks like Sparty will face another dog. This time it'll be the Hoyas from Georgetown. 

Another young team that lacks depth, the Hoyas will have their hands full with Michigan State.

One thing that Georgetown does have to its advantage is size. The Hoyas' possess a legitimate big-man; 6'11" sophomore Greg Monroe. If there's one area that MSU lacks in; it's having a legit "tree" in the lineup.

When it's all said and done, State's experience should prove the difference. Don't forget that its roster is virtually identical to last year's, with the exception of Goran Suton and Travis Walton.

Key wins

Duke, Villanova, and Pitt

Third-round (Sweet 16): Duke Blue Devils (12-2, 25-4)

After having to deal with dogs the first two rounds, Michigan State will be set for a date with coach Mike Krzyzewski's ACC champion Duke Blue Devils (there's little doubt that Missouri or Lipscomb will stand it their way).

This match up is alluring on a couple of different levels.

A.) History—these teams have slugged it out a couple of times in March, producing memorable/forgettable results, depending on who you root for.

B.) Coaches—two of the greatest coaches in today's game, and eventually of all-time.

Duke's size with it's towering palm trees, rather Plumlees (Mason and Miles) should present some sort of advantage for the Dukies.

Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer are other advantages, but MSU has the speed that makes up for Duke's size and shooting abilities. 

This should be another one to remember (for State fans), and Sparty will likely set themselves up for a showdown with the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Key wins

Maryland, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech (all ACC opponents), and Gonzaga

Fourth-round (Elite 8): West Virginia (12-5, 23-6)

The Mountaineers aren't a big team, but they sure are a fast one. Their athleticism has made them one of the premier teams in the Big East, and for good reason.

The 6'7" Da'Sean Butler and 6'9" Devin Ebanks could be the nation's best one-two forward combination. That could and most likely will end Sparty's run in the tournament. 

With West Virginia's speed and sufficient size, Michigan State will have trouble keeping up. The Mountaineer's faster-paced style, in theory, would get MSU into a hole that would be tough to dig itself out of.

An Elite Eight run is more than some anticipated for the Spartans, a perfectly executed game plan would have to be carried out against the Mountaineers in order for the Spartans to advance to the Final Four.

With that being said, nothing is definite, and March is full of surprises. As of now, this is how Michigan State's tournament appearance will probably finish.

Key wins

Ohio State and Pitt. Lost 72-71 to Villanova (good loss?)

In conclusion

To view the mock bracket that was used to base this piece on, click here.

Special thanks to the folks at ESPN for making this valuable information public.