MSU men's basketball: Spartans in need of good run at Indy

EAST LANSING - The mother of all brackets is unveiled in five days, when 65 NCAA Tournament teams are chosen and scattered across the country for a three-week search for a national champion.

First, the conference tournaments, where banners and trophies are at stake - but NCAA positioning is always in mind. Some teams are fighting to get in, others are working for better seedings and destinations.

That's true of Big Ten co-champion Michigan State, which is the No. 3 seed in the league tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and would like to be a No. 3 seed in the big tournament.

"I think their chances are good for a No. 3 seed, I think they're right there," said bracket guru Jerry Palm, publisher of CollegeRPI.com and an analyst for CBS Sports. "And for me personally, I think they're the favorite in the conference tournament because they're healthy and they have better depth than Purdue and Ohio State."

MSU coach Tom Izzo said Monday he is driven to end his program's 10-year title drought in the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans - who play in the quarterfinals Friday against Thursday's winner between No. 6 seed Minnesota and No. 11 seed Penn State - won it in 1999 and 2000 and have not been to the finals since then.

Izzo also acknowledged that NCAA seeding is a factor. He said there's a "big difference" this year between a 3 and a 4, which is the Spartans' projected range.

A No. 3 seed is assured of avoiding its region's No. 1 seed until the regional final. A No. 4 would have to face the No. 1 in the Sweet Sixteen.

And the three No. 1 seed locks - Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse - are worth avoiding.

"The way the tournament is now, after playing a 10 seed (Southern Cal) last year and thinking it was the second-toughest game of the tournament, I'm not sure it does matter anymore," Izzo said of seeding. "I just think there's too many (good) teams - except I think everybody would agree there's a couple of 1 seeds right now that seem head and shoulders above the rest of us.

"And so if you didn't have to meet them until later on - if everything went true to form, which it never does - that would be beneficial."

MSU reached the NCAA title game a year ago as a No. 2 seed. MSU's past Final Four trips under Izzo came as a No. 1 in 1999, a No. 1 in 2000, a No. 1 in 2001 and a No. 5 in 2005.

Palm said MSU still could land a No. 2 seed if some teams ahead of the Spartans stumble.

"They'd need some help for that," he said. "And it depends on how impressive they are this weekend."

Higher-seeded teams also have priority for playing closer to home. The closest first-round sites this year are Milwaukee and Buffalo. The others are New Orleans, San Jose, Calif., Oklahoma City, Providence, R.I., Spokane, Wash., and Jacksonville, Fla.

• SHOOTER TO STOPPER: Chris Allen's defense against Manny Harris on Sunday earned lofty praise from Izzo. Harris had a single basket on 10 shots and scored a season-low four points.

"Chris Allen did as good a job on Manny Harris as we've had Travis Walton do, or Mateen Cleaves do or Charlie Bell (on defense)," Izzo said. "In fact, somebody said that was Charlie Bell-like, Mateen Cleaves-like defense, and I'd have to agree with them. So Chris deserves some credit, I don't need him to forget his offense, though. That's something we as a staff are gonna have to work on. It's not his fault, it's our fault."

Allen took no shots Sunday and has a total of seven points on 10 shots in the past three games. In the previous five games, Allen took 48 shots and scored 71 points.

Is it possible teams are starting to make Allen a focal point of their defensive game plans?

"I don't feel that, it's just, I mean, the plays we're running," Allen said. "We're going inside, we're not trying to get no (outside) shots. I'm just playing defense and if I get a shot I'm gonna take it. That's not what's happening right now so I'm not worried about it."

• THINKING PRO: Izzo and Kalin Lucas have been meeting often of late, and Lucas said Sunday that Izzo's main message is for Lucas to have fun. Izzo said Monday he wants Lucas to "enjoy the journey" and not let his NBA aspirations drag on him.

Lucas considered leaving early after his sophomore season and is expected to look into it after this season. Asked if he thinks Lucas will end up leaving early, Izzo said: "No, I don't."

But Izzo also mentioned that he has felt that way at this time of year before, such as in 2006 when Shannon Brown ended up leaving a year early.

Izzo will help Lucas assess his prospects after the season, but for now he wants Lucas - who is recovering from a toe infection - to set aside the NBA pressure for the remainder of the season.