Former Spartan Rocket Watts punches ticket to the NCAA Tournament

Former Michigan State star Rocket Watts is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since he was with the Spartans in 2020-21.

It’s the most exciting time of the year in college basketball. March Madness is finally here and the mid-major conferences have taken center stage to start the exciting month, headlined by former Spartan Rocket Watts helping lead Oakland to the Big Dance.

The power conference tournaments take place this week/weekend, but the mid-major conferences typically take place the week before. One conference tournament, in particular, had its championship game on Tuesday night, and Watts just punched his ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Rocket Watts is headed to the NCAA Tournament

Former Spartan Rocket Watts is heading to the NCAA Tournament with Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies just won the Horizon Tournament, automatically qualifying them for the NCAA Tournament. This is the first time since 2011 that they will be invited to the NCAA Tournament.

Watts has had a decent year for Oakland this season, averaging 7.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. He didn’t play in the championship game on Tuesday, but he had a huge game in the Golden Grizzlies’ quarterfinal matchup. Watts exploded for 18 points against IPFW in Oakland’s 10-point quarterfinal win.

You might also remember that Rocket and Oakland played Michigan State earlier this season at the Breslin Center. The Spartans won the game 79-62, but Rocket had a great game, scoring 16 points. I never want to see any opponent play well against MSU, but I definitely made an exception for Watts.

Selection Sunday is in a few days, so we will find out soon who he and Oakland will play next. Hopefully for Michigan State fans’ sakes, we find out who the Spartans are playing as well. And who knows, maybe the Spartans and Oakland will play each other in the tournament. I’ve seen a few bracket projections place these teams in the same region of the bracket, so you never know what will happen.