Selection Sunday is quickly approaching, with the official NCAA tournament brackets set to be released in a matter of hours, and it looks like the committee will decide on the final No. 2 seed among the three Big Ten teams.
Michigan State had been considered a virtual lock for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament for weeks, but back-to-back losses late in the season sparked debate. As it stands, the battle for the final No. 2 seed appears to be between Michigan State, Illinois State and Purdue.
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Nick Arvin of Locked On Boilermakers took to social media on Saturday night to express similar thoughts and provide a detailed comparison of the three Big Ten teams — watch below:
Purdue will face Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament championship game this afternoon, so they theoretically have a chance to further build on their resume as the final game before the bracket is released. However, in previous years, it seemed like the outcome of the Big Ten Championship Game wasn’t considered for seeding because its bracket results were too close. This is at least a common theory, not necessarily proven, but something to consider.
As of this morning, Michigan State remains the leader among these three teams in the bracket matrix. The Spartans were listed as the eventual No. 2 seed, with an average seeding of 2.25 in the 120 bracket. Following closely behind is Purdue University in third place with an average seeding of 2.83, followed by the University of Illinois with an average seeding of 2.94.
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Michigan State also benefits from going head-to-head with Purdue and Illinois this year. Therefore, this will likely be the ultimate deciding factor in who gets the final No. 2 seed.
The official selection show will take place today at 6pm ET. We’ll have extensive coverage here on Spartans Wire as the NCAA Tournament brackets are released.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Analyst: Michigan State, Illinois, Purdue battle for final No. 2 seed in NCAA tournament
