Michigan State basketball win in Ann Arbor an indicator of Final Four run?

Michigan State basketball beat Michigan on Saturday night by double figures. Is this win an indicator of a potential Final Four run?

It might be time to start looking at purchasing tickets to this year’s Final Four. Michigan State basketball just beat Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday 73-63, marking their eighth win in 10 games.

The Spartans, who many counted out, are surging at the right time as we approach March. Have you heard that statement before?

This win against Michigan, however, might suggest something special is on the horizon. It might suggest that MSU is a month away from making its 11th Final Four in program history.

Under Tom Izzo, MSU is 8/10 making the Final Four when they win in Ann Arbor (the two years where they didn't were 2004 and 2016).

They are 0/12 making the Final Four when they don't win in Ann Arbor.

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/RVLV8forbn

— Anthony 💩 (@TheRealSharty) February 18, 2024

Could MSU be on track to make the Final Four?

Michigan State has beaten Michigan in Ann Arbor 10 times in Tom Izzo’s tenure before Saturday. During those 10 seasons, Michigan State has gone on to make the Final Four eight times. A whopping 80 percent hit rate making the Final Four is definitely not something you can ignore. It’s also interesting because Izzo has been to the Final Four eight total times in his career, and all eight of those times he beat Michigan in Ann Arbor earlier in the season.

Another interesting stat is that Izzo has never made the Final Four when he’s lost a game in Ann Arbor. Sometimes data like this seems irrelevant, but it seems somewhat important to me.

Does this mean Michigan State will make the Final Four this year? It’s not a guarantee. But this isn’t the only reason why I’m starting to think MSU could make a deep run in March. The team overall has been playing at a high enough level where a Final Four seems possible. Michigan State basketball has won eight of its last 10 games, and has put some of this year’s demons to bed.

The Spartans finally got another marquee win when they beat No. 10 Illinois. They also finally added some more road wins to their resume after winning two road games this past week. And they finally have multiple reliable scoring options outside of Tyson Walker.

Michigan State is trending in the right direction, and nobody can deny that. And it just so happens that a win in Ann Arbor could be the indicator that a Final Four run is imminent.