Coach: MSU women deserve No. 5 seed

Suzy Merchant feels Michigan State deserves a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

Two bracket analysts see the just a tad lower.

And no one can seem to peg exactly where the Spartans will be going.

With the women's selection show on Monday, the Spartans are considered a virtual lock to make the field of 64, unlike the past two seasons where there was uncertainty to them receiving a bid to the "Big Dance."

"I kind of see us as a 5-seed," Merchant said Thursday. "If we're lower than that, I'll be disappointed. If we're a 4, I think that's a bonus."

The NCAAs begin next Saturday and Sunday.

MSU has won 11 of its last 13 games and is 22-9, ranked No. 25 by The Associated Press and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The Spartans are 16th in Ratings Points Index (RPI) - a key determining factor in the formula for Tournament bids - according to both NCAA.org and collegerpi.com.

They also are one of just three teams this season to own three wins over top-10 opponents - North Carolina, Xavier and Ohio State. No. 1 Connecticut and No. 3 Nebraska are the other two to achieve that feat.

"Had we gotten to the finals in the conference tournament, maybe won it, I think we're a 4 for sure," said Merchant, whose team lost twice to Iowa in that stretch - including a 59-54 loss in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on March 6. "My gut is we'll be a 5-seed, but there's no indication where we'll go."

Both ESPN bracket analyst Charlie Crème and Jerry Palm of collegerpi.com have MSU pegged as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Crème thinks Norman, Okla., is a possible destination, but added that this weekend's remaining conference tournaments could shake up the travel scenario across the country.

Crème said had the Spartans defeated Iowa and earned a spot in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, he could have envisioned them receiving a No. 5 seed.

"I think Michigan State's had a real nice second half. I was high on them at the beginning of the season, then they managed to convince me they weren't that good for a while and they weren't high on everyone's radar," he said. "But they really started to play better once the second half of the conference season rolled around."

Crème thinks five Big Ten teams will make the Tournament - automatic qualifier Ohio State, MSU, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. Palm has four of those teams earning bids, with U-M left out.

Palm, who ranks MSU as having played the nation's 17th-toughest schedule, said the Big Ten's RPI - with most teams in the top 50-100 - will affect the Spartans' bid. Had they played more top 25-RPI teams, like teams in the Big 12 did during the conference season, he feels they could receive a higher seed in the NCAAs.

"I think especially that win over Ohio State is a good win," he said. "(The Spartans) look like a Top 25 team, but not a whole lot better."