Analyzing where MSU basketball lands in latest bracketology update

Michigan State basketball continues to be in contention for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament as we approach the new calendar year.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN released an updated batch of bracketology on Tuesday, and he again has the Spartans as a top three seed. In this week's NCAA Tournament bracket projection, Lunardi has the Spartans listed as a No. 3 seed in the South Region.

Michigan State is projected to face No. 14 seed Siena in a first round matchup from Buffalo, N.Y. If the Spartans were to beat Siena in the first round, they'd face the winner of No. 6 seed Tennessee and No. 11 seed Butler.

My Thoughts

For a second straight week, Lunardi has the Spartans as a No. 3 seed -- which is about on par for where they belong. As I said last week, I would have the Spartans ahead of BYU or Gonzaga for a No. 2 seed but I'm not going to get to worked up about that right now. I'm anticipating we will see the Spartans sitting in this same spot over the next few weeks until conference play picks back up across the country in January.

Full Bracket Projection

Click on the post below to see the complete NCAA Tournament bracket projection from Lunardi for this week:

Men's Bracketology: 2026 NCAA Tournament https://t.co/vW0tBZwWH5. 🏀🏀 In 2017, Northwestern ended its streak as the only power-conference school never to reach the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats celebrated by advancing to the second round, a feat they went on to repeat in 2023…— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) December 16, 2025

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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Analyzing where MSU basketball lands in latest bracketology update