Selection committee explains why Michigan State made NCAA tournament

The NCAA Tournament selection committee explained why Michigan State basketball was in the field of 68 comfortably.

Have you ever wondered what goes through the NCAA tournament selection committee’s mind when creating the NCAA tournament bracket? I know I’ve always wondered what the most important things are to them especially when it comes to Michigan State. Thankfully for us Spartan fans, we got an answer on Sunday.

During the selection show, the hosts got to interview the selection committee chair on live TV. MSU was a topic that came up because some felt they shouldn’t have even made the tournament.

Let’s take a look and see what committee chair Charles McClelland said.

NCAA Tournament selection chair Charles McClelland explains why Michigan State earned a spot in this year's tournament ⬇️@MattNorlander pic.twitter.com/M5KVReeRWS

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 17, 2024

Selection committee chair discusses Michigan State’s resume

• Strength of schedule and Quad 1 wins

Charles began by talking about MSU’s strength of schedule and Quad 1 wins being a reason that made the tournament. He shared it “wasn’t only the strength of schedule, but wins against Quad 1 teams.”

Michigan State once again had one of the toughest schedules in the country, no surprise there. It was No. 13 in the country when it comes to this metric, and that definitely stands out to the selection committee.

The Spartans’ Quad 1 wins also stood out to the selection committee as well. To be fair, MSU only had three Quad 1 wins which isn’t that many, but they were against very good opponents. Those wins came against Baylor, Illinois, and Indiana State. The Indiana State win turned out to be extremely important because the Sycamores were one of the first teams left out of the tournament. So if they had beaten MSU then Indiana State would have an argument to be in ahead of the Spartans.

• Metrics loved Michigan State

One thing the committee loves is the metrics, specifically the NET and KenPom rankings. This was something the committee noticed, and Charles shared “They had some really big opportunities and the matrix (metrics) was there for Michigan State to be squarely in the tournament.”

The Spartans ended the season ranked No. 24 in the NET and No. 18 in the KenPom rankings. No team has ever been left out of the tournament who is that high in these metrics. In fact, Indiana State, who finished No. 28 in the NET, is the first team to be left out while being a top 30 NET team. So based on these metrics, Michigan State had to make the tournament.

• Quality of wins outweighs number of losses

The biggest argument people have that think MSU should have missed the tournament is their number of losses. And they do have a point, 14 losses is a lot. But Michigan State did an excellent job countering those losses with dominant wins. The committee noticed this as well, and Charles said “We did take a notice of those losses, but they have some significant wins.”

Michigan State finished with 19 wins this season and most of the wins came by a large margin. Fourteen of those wins came by double digits and nine came by at least 18 points. Those dominant wins show just how great the Spartans can be.

So there you have it, based on the committee’s rationale, the Spartans weren’t all that close to missing the tournament this year. In fact, MSU is the top 9-seed and 10 spots clear of missing the tournament.

Now that the Spartans are in, it’s time to go on a run. That run begins Thursday as Michigan State takes on Mississippi State. It’s time for some magic.