Michigan State basketball gets rare non-conference Quad 1 home game

Michigan State basketball will be getting a rare non-conference Quad 1 home game on Saturday against Indiana State.

The wait for the return of Michigan State basketball is almost over. The Spartans had over a week off around Christmas which is a nice break for the team, but if you’re anything like me the time goes by extremely slowly without MSU hoops.

The Spartans will welcome the Indiana State Sycamores to East Lansing on Saturday afternoon. Just based on their name, you might not think this is a big matchup. But I’m here to tell you that it’s the exact opposite.

Rare Quad 1 non-conference home game

Indiana State isn’t your average mid major this season. This mid major comes into this game 11-1 on the season, with their only loss to a solid Alabama team. This Indiana State team also is ranked very favorably in one key metric.

The NET rankings are arguably the most important rankings in college basketball. It plays a major factor in your NCAA Tournament resume and what seed you get. The NET rankings are also used to determine win and loss records classified into four quadrants (1-4).

The best and most important quadrant is Quad 1. These are the games you need to do well in and win as they carry the most weight on your resume. A Quad 1 game is defined as your opponent being a top 30 team in the NET rankings for a home game, a top 50 for a neutral site game, and top 75 for a road game.

It’s very common to have a Quad 1 Big Ten game at the Breslin Center, but I think you’re starting to see why Saturday is more rare.

How often is a mid-major team even ranked in the top 30 in the NET? Not very often is your answer. And to have that team just so happen to play you at home? That almost never happens. Thankfully for Michigan State basketball, it gets that opportunity on Saturday.

Importance of winning this game

Indiana State is No. 23 in the NET rankings currently. As I mentioned, Quad 1 games carry the largest weight for your NCAA Tournament resume. So a win against Indiana State would be massive in that metric. Especially considering the slow start the Spartans had this season, this win would help make up for some of that.

This also will be the easiest opportunity we have all season for a Quad 1 win. Indiana State might be 11-1, but their strength of record is very low. The only Power Six team they played this season was Alabama, who they lost to by 22 points. Also, all 11 wins were against mid major opponents. Don’t get me wrong, 11 wins against anyone this early in the season is extremely impressive. But it does devalue their record significantly in my opinion and suggests they aren’t as good as their record might tell you.

A win on Saturday would give MSU a lot of momentum heading into Big Ten play. This would be the Spartans’ fourth win in a row and another win against a quality opponent. Most importantly, this once again would tell the college basketball world that MSU is back.