MSU basketball: Spartans may head west after early Big Ten exit

INDIANAPOLIS - Jud might get to stay home for this one.

Former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote, who has faithfully followed the Spartans and former assistant Tom Izzo for 12 straight NCAA Tournaments, may be able to watch them in his hometown of Spokane, Wash., next weekend.

The Spartans are probably looking at a No. 4 or No. 5 seed when the bracket is unveiled tonight (6 p.m., CBS), and a trip to the West Coast is a good possibility, bracket guru Jerry Palm said Saturday.

"In the 4-5 range, it's more likely they'll go West, because there are no good Western teams this year," Palm said. "The higher seeds are going to take up all the Eastern sites, so it's almost like the last kid picked in kickball."

Friday's 72-67 overtime loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament likely ended the Spartans' hopes for a No. 2 or No. 3 seed - which would have bolstered their hopes of being placed in closer destinations Milwaukee or Buffalo, N.Y.

As it stands, expected No. 1 seeds Kentucky and Syracuse should be placed in four-team "pods" in Milwaukee and Buffalo, respectively. Those pods would consist of the No. 1 seed, No. 16 seed, No. 8 seed and No. 9 seed.

Based on distance and seeding, the other pod at the Buffalo site should go to West Virginia, probably as a No. 2 seed.

And in Milwaukee, Ohio State is the best bet as a No. 2 seed to occupy the second pod. The Buckeyes' double-overtime win over Illinois in Saturday's Big Ten Tournament semifinals and Purdue's blowout loss to Minnesota should give the Buckeyes the edge.

MSU wins over fellow Big Ten co-champs Purdue and Ohio State would have given the Spartans a shot to move up and move closer. Izzo said entering the tournament that a No. 3 seed was a worthy pursuit, because a No. 3 seed can avoid its region's No. 1 seed until the fourth round.

Palm said Milwaukee and Buffalo are the least likely destinations for MSU. The other six - Spokane, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Jacksonville, Fla., San Jose, Calif., and Providence, R.I. - are more likely, he said.

The Western spots are the likeliest because they'll probably be occupied by 4-5 pods. In other words, a No. 4 seed against a No. 13 seed, and a No. 5 seed against a No. 12 seed, with the winners playing in the second round.

And as much as the selection committee likes story lines, why not put MSU in the same town as its former coach? That's exactly what ESPN "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi projected in his Saturday bracket.

Lunardi and Palm also have Minnesota and Illinois right on the "bubble" to be selected. Considering Illinois' win over Wisconsin and impressive showing against Ohio State this weekend, and the Gophers' upsets of MSU and Purdue, the Big Ten may end up getting six teams in after all.

"I think there's six teams now that deserve to be in, and I'm going to blow my horn for them, not for us," Izzo said after Friday's loss. "Whatever seed we get, we get, but I'd sure like to see Minnesota and Illinois in because I think they deserve to be in - because our league was tough this year."