ESPN's "famous" bracketolgist, Joe Lundardi sent out the following tweet a few days ago that caught my interest:
This part, especially, caught my eye:
"However, since the 2019 Final Four, Michigan State has been a second weekend team only once, and never above a 7-seed. Some would argue the Spartans peaked about a decade ago."
While it is certainly true that MSU has not lived up to expectations since COVID, this is only because of the extremely high expectations that are simply just normal in East Lansing. If MSU is truly underachieving, then who is doing better?
MSU made just one Sweet 16 in the last four tournaments. By MSU's standards, that isn't great. But how many teams have more than two Sweet 16 appearances since 2021? The answer is 17 teams:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Connecticut
Creighton
Duke
Gonzaga
Houston
Iowa State
Miami
Michigan
North Carolina
Purdue
San Diego State
Tennessee
UCLA
Villanova
Cool. Golf claps all around. But as I look at that list, a few of those teams had some down years in the last four as well. What happens to the list if we remove the teams that also failed to make the tournament at least once since 2021? You get just eight teams:
Alabama
Connecticut
Creighton
Gonzaga
Houston
Purdue
San Diego State
Tennessee
Just within the Big Ten, Michigan State won four Tournament games since 2021. Only Purdue (7), Illinois (5), and Michigan (5) have more wins.
Does that sound like a program and a coach that "peaked a decade ago?" Far from it.
This part, especially, caught my eye:
"However, since the 2019 Final Four, Michigan State has been a second weekend team only once, and never above a 7-seed. Some would argue the Spartans peaked about a decade ago."
While it is certainly true that MSU has not lived up to expectations since COVID, this is only because of the extremely high expectations that are simply just normal in East Lansing. If MSU is truly underachieving, then who is doing better?
MSU made just one Sweet 16 in the last four tournaments. By MSU's standards, that isn't great. But how many teams have more than two Sweet 16 appearances since 2021? The answer is 17 teams:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Connecticut
Creighton
Duke
Gonzaga
Houston
Iowa State
Miami
Michigan
North Carolina
Purdue
San Diego State
Tennessee
UCLA
Villanova
Cool. Golf claps all around. But as I look at that list, a few of those teams had some down years in the last four as well. What happens to the list if we remove the teams that also failed to make the tournament at least once since 2021? You get just eight teams:
Alabama
Connecticut
Creighton
Gonzaga
Houston
Purdue
San Diego State
Tennessee
Just within the Big Ten, Michigan State won four Tournament games since 2021. Only Purdue (7), Illinois (5), and Michigan (5) have more wins.
Does that sound like a program and a coach that "peaked a decade ago?" Far from it.
