The debate surrounding Michigan State entering the NCAA tournament was whether they should have been a one seed or not. Many people felt they deserved that one seed over Virginia or Oregon but they had to settle for a two seed.
Even with the debatable seeding many people still picked Michigan State to win the entire tournament. A lot was made of the fact that Michigan State might meet up with Virginia in the Elite Eight, a team they eliminated from the tournament last season. Well, all that is moot now as Middle Tennessee ruined any plans the Spartans had to make a deep tournament run.
We have seen two seeds lose in the NCAA tournament before but we may have never seen a bigger upset than this one. Michigan State, along with Kansas, was one of the two teams that was regularly being picked to win the championship and they lost to a Middle Tennessee State team that didn't even win their regular season conference championship.
Middle Tennessee State played great on Friday, there is no doubt about that, but this Michigan State team had no business losing to them. Not only did Michigan State lose though, they never even led in the game and opened up down 15-2. Michigan State made 56 percent of their field goals on the day but so did Middle Tennessee State. The Spartans allowed way too many open jump shots and the Blue Raiders made them pay.
MTSU won this game in spite of the fact that they made just 62 percent of their free throws and they were outrebounded. The key stat for them on Friday, and all season, was the three-point line as they made 11-19 from deep and they have been good from long range all season. Giddy Potts is the best three point shooter in the nation and as a team the Blue Raiders make 39 percent so while the outcome of the game is a surprise, MTSU's lights out shooting should not be.
This leaves the Midwest region wide open for anyone to take. One seed Virginia will now be the favorite to win the region but as we have seen anything can happen. Denzel Valentine and Michigan State have played their final game this season while Middle Tennessee State will take on Syracuse on Sunday in a 10 vs. 15 matchup. Who would have thought?
