Dr. Green and White Sports Authority

Last weekend, in what has become an annual and completely unnecessary new tradition, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Committee announced their current list of top four seeds for upcoming 2025 basketball tournament. On its face, this announcement was interesting, but otherwise forgettable. But as a part of revealing of this potential tournament bracket, a side discussion of sorts was started. Members of the ESPN College Gameday crew provided an update on current discussions between the NCAA and conference leadership on the potential to expand the NCAA basketball tournament beyond its current scope of 68 teams to 72 or possibly 76 teams. When the topic of tournament expansion was raised during the live broadcast from Alabama's Coleman Coliseum, the fans in attendance booed loudly and in unison. Had I been present in Tuscaloosa on that day, I would have booed right along with them. [https://x.com/PeteThamel/status/1890803483688775838] I have personally made my opini...

Back in the month of December as Big Ten basketball conference play was just getting started, It was clear that the mid February schedule was going to be a grinder. Specifically, the four game stretch featuring games at Illinois, versus Purdue, at Michigan, and at Maryland looked daunting. To make matters even worse, the first three games of this gauntlet were squeezed into a seven-day window. At the time, just getting a split in that four-game stretch seemed like an optimistic target. Following the Spartans' disappointing west coast road trip, my analysis gave the same result. But that was assuming the Green and White would take care of business against Oregon and Indiana at home. When Michigan State dropped the game to the Hoosiers, the Spartans' hopes for a Big Ten Championship dimmed significantly. Getting even just a split in late February would likely not be enough to raise a banner. Things looked bleak. With the Spartans' backs suddenly against the wall, they did wha...

If there is one thing that I have learned over the years of following sports and Michigan State sports specifically, it is this: Winning is a heck of a lot more fun that losing.  The first few days of February and the trip out west were not fun. Losing to Indiana on a day that should have been a celebration in the Breslin Center was especially unfun. The first 10 minutes of Saturday's game at Illinois were not exactly a picnic either. But the Spartans outscored the Fighting Illini 64-to-34 in the final 28 minutes of the game to win going away. In the process, they helped Tom Izzo to finally break the all-time Big Ten conference win record. More importantly, they won with energy, toughness, and efficiency. In other words, they once again looked like the group that went undefeated in the months of December and January.  Michigan State looked like a team that could win a championship. If they can keep this up, they might just help Tom Izzo tie yet another important record with hi...

This week did not go as planned for the Michigan State Spartans. After a thrilling come back over the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. Spartan Nation was geared up for Coach Izzo and the Green and White to officially break the all-time Big Ten conference win record on Tuesday with a win against Indiana. The expected coronation seemed like a sure thing, but the Indiana Hoosiers has other plans. The crimson and cream clad visitors ruined the night by upsetting the Spartans, 71-67. Following the game, Coach Izzo was more down than I have seen him in a long time. It is normal for him to look annoyed or angry following a loss, but it is rare for him to look sad. I cannot think of any other word to describe his demeanor on Tuesday night as the time approached midnight. "Disappointed is an understatement,” Izzo said to open his post-game press conference. "There's so many areas that I disappointed in... and give (Indiana head coach) Mike (Woodson) credit, he did a better job than I did...