Could Michigan State basketball miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly 30 years? One writer at CBS Sports thinks it’s possible.
CBS Sports released an article this week looking at potential teams ranked in the preseason Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll that could miss the NCAA Tournament. David Cobb was one of the writers featured in the article, and his pick was the Spartans.
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Here’s a bit of what Cobb had to say about the Spartans and why he believes Michigan State is a good candidate to miss the NCAA Tournament this year:
“If this roster were coached by anyone else other than Tom Izzo, there is no chance it would be ranked in the preseason AP poll. But because it’s Izzo who is on the sidelines, Michigan State is getting the benefit of the doubt, and understandably so. The Spartans have reached 27 straight NCAA Tournaments under Izzo, and that mark would be 28 if not for the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season. Izzo, 70, is one of the greatest to ever do it, and he might be able to take a roster full of kids from Michigan State’s supply chain management program and lead them to the Big Dance.”
Cobb went on to also write that the Spartans lack any top tier talent on their roster, and essentially only trusts the Spartans to be better than a bubble team thanks to Izzo. If you took Izzo away, Michigan State’s roster would “be no more than a bubble team.”
The Spartans are ranked No. 22 in the preseason AP poll and were picked to finish No. 6 in the Big Ten in the media preseason poll. So based on those two rankings alone, the Spartans are going to safely make the NCAA Tournament but Cobb is at least right in having some doubts after Michigan State lost some key players off last year’s squad. However, I personally wouldn’t worry about them missing the tournament unless they have some bad injury luck.
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Click here to read Cobb’s full write up on the Spartans and some other preseason top 25 teams that other writers think could miss the big dance this year.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: CBS Sports writer says MSU hoops could miss NCAA Tournament
