As the Spartans move closer to setting their roster for the 2012 NCDA National Tournament at Saginaw Valley State University, they also move closer to finding out their opponents for day one of the tournament. Day one of the tournament is a three match group play round robin, and MSU is anticipating they’ll avoid the other Michigan superpower teams. Right now, Zigmas Maloni of Depaul has Michigan State playing James Madison, Moody Bible Institute, and Western Kentucky, with all three schools being ranked in the top twelve of the NCDA rankings. The Spartans have played Moody three times in the two year history of the program, with the Spartans coming out on top all three times. Michigan State has not played the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky since Nationals 2010 at Bowling Green State University, and they have never played James Madison.
MSU is also undefeated the last three seasons against out of state opponents. They are hoping to continue this run through Nationals this year. The second day of Nationals features a single elimination tournament, which the Spartans will hope to have a good seed to advance to their third straight Final Four appearance. Junior Will Hack says he’d like to play “James Madison” because of the fact that there is a James Madison College at Michigan State University. He’d also like to play “Depaul, because I’ve never had the chance to play them and I hear it’s a blast.”
The current guest list for Nationals includes the three other semifinalist teams from last year, Big Ten rival Ohio State, and common opponents Bowling Green and Western Illinois, which means the Spartans will have to take down some of the toughest competition in the league if they are to win a title. It also includes teams that MSU has not played, at least not in a while, including Kentucky, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Towson.
The formula for seeding for the second day is currently projected to be based off of 80% of the points you score on day one of Nationals, and 20% of the points you’ve earned during the regular season. Since Michigan State is currently in fifth place in the standings they should be in good shape, but they can’t afford to falter on day one.
The full schedule for Michigan State will be posted as soon as it is released.