Spartans' route covers Big Ten turf

Spartans' route covers Big Ten turf

March 16, 2009

BY SHANNON SHELTON FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State fell exactly where Tom Izzo said it would be when the NCAA announced its pairings for the 2009 tournament.

And that spot might be the best situation for the Spartans -- a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region.

The Spartans will travel to Minneapolis for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament and advance to the regional rounds in Indianapolis if they survive the first weekend. MSU plays 15th-seed Robert Morris of the Northeast Conference on Friday, with the winner facing the winner of the game between No. 7 Boston College and No. 10 USC on Sunday.

"I think we've got a tough bracket," said point guard Kalin Lucas. "There's some good teams in here."

With Detroit hosting the Final Four in April, the idea of traveling a Minneapolis-Indianapolis-Detroit route through the tournament is a favorable one for the Spartans. If MSU hadn't lost in the semifinal of the Big Ten tournament and potentially earned a No. 1 seed, it could have been in the West, requiring a trip through Phoenix.

"It would be a storybook dream," Izzo said about the potential travel to Detroit. "We could get out of the first weekend, which we all know will be very difficult, and going to Indy would be great for us. All three places are in Big Ten country."

Louisville, the winner of the Big East Conference tournament, earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest.

By advancing to a 12th consecutive NCAA tournament, MSU now has the fourth-longest current streak in college basketball. Arizona maintained its record as the school with the top streak, and now has been invited to 25 straight tournaments. Kansas is second and Duke is third. Kentucky, which had 17 consecutive tournament appearances, ended its streak this year.

"I think that's a great thing for the program," Izzo said. "I think what is most pleasing to me about the 12 years ... one thing we never did was fall off the map."