If the NCAA Tournament started today, the four No. 1 seeds would likely be Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida.
But let's talk about Michigan State.
Tom Izzo's Spartans beat Michigan 79-62 on Sunday to improve to 26-5 overall, 17-3 in the Big Ten. As a result, they secured the outright conference championship by three games and remained in contention, I think, to be a No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Do the Spartans control their own destiny?
Probably not.
But if Florida or Houston stumbles early in their conference tournaments, and Michigan State adds three more Quadrant 1 victories en route to winning the Big Ten Tournament, the Spartans would have a case to make. Based on current numbers, winning the Big Ten Tournament would likely have Michigan State with a 15-4 record in Q1 to go with a 5-1 record in Q2, which would have them sitting at 20-5 in the first two quadrants on Selection Sunday.
Again, that might not be good enough if Auburn and Duke are locks to get No. 1 seeds, and if Houston and Florida win out (or at least get to their conference tournament title games). But if the Cougars or Gators get caught early, a door will open -- and the Spartans could be the team that walks through it.
Michigan State remains No. 5 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn is No. 1 for the 61st consecutive day. The Spartans will open the Big Ten Tournament in Friday's quarterfinals against the winner of Thursday's game between Indiana and Oregon.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaney Johnson was 1-of-3 from the field with four fouls in Saturday's 93-91 overtime loss to Alabama. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 32-6 |
| 2 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 82-69 win at North Carolina. The Blue Devils are the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. | -- | 35-4 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 23 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 65-61 win at Baylor. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 35-5 |
| 4 |  | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 23 points and eight assists in Saturday's 90-71 win over Ole Miss. The Gators are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 36-4 |
| 5 |  | Tre Holloman finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Sunday's 79-62 win over Michigan. The Spartans are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 30-7 |
| 6 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 23 points and three steals in Saturday's 75-65 win over South Carolina. The Vols are the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 30-8 |
| 7 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 93-91 overtime win at Auburn. The Crimson Tide are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 28-9 |
| 8 |  | RJ Luis finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 86-84 win at Marquette. The Red Storm are the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. | -- | 31-5 |
| 9 |  | JT Toppin finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 85-57 win at Arizona State. The Red Raiders are the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 28-9 |
| 10 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 66-52 win at LSU. The Aggies are the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 23-11 |
| 11 |  | Curtis Jones finished with 24 points and five assists in Saturday's 73-57 win at Kansas State. The Cyclones are the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 25-10 |
| 12 |  | John Tonje was 2-of-13 from the field in Saturday's 86-75 loss to Penn State. The Badgers are the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 27-10 |
| 13 |  | Purdue allowed the Illini to shoot 63% from 2-point range in Friday's 88-80 loss at Illinois. The Boilermakers are the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 24-12 |
| 14 |  | Julian Reese finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 74-61 win over Northwestern. The Terrapins are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 27-9 |
| 15 |  | Chucky Hepburn finished with 16 points and four steals in Saturday's 68-48 win over Stanford. The Cardinals are the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. | -- | 27-8 |
| 16 |  | Viktor Lakhin finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 65-47 win over Virginia Tech. The Tigers are the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament. | 1 | 27-7 |
| 17 |  | Otega Oweh finished with 22 points and three steals in Saturday's 91-83 win at Missouri. The Wildcats' next game will be in the SEC Tournament. | 1 | 24-12 |
| 18 |  | Augustus Marciulionis finished with 25 points and seven assists in Saturday's 74-64 win over Oregon State. The Gaels are the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament. | 1 | 29-6 |
| 19 |  | KJ Lewis was 1-of-8 from the field in Saturday's 83-76 loss at Kansas. The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | 1 | 24-13 |
| 20 |  | Stevie Mitchell was 0-of-7 from the field in Saturday's 86-84 loss to St. John's. The Golden Eagles are the No. 5 seed in the Big East Tournament. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 21 |  | PJ Haggerty finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 84-68 win over USF. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the AAC Tournament. | 1 | 29-6 |
| 22 |  | Tre Donaldson was 1-of-5 from the field in Sunday's 79-62 loss at Michigan State. The Wolverines are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | 6 | 27-10 |
| 23 |  | Nate Bittle finished with 36 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's 80-73 overtime win at Washington. The Ducks are the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 25-10 |
| 24 |  | Dawson Baker finished with 15 points and one steal in Saturday's 83-73 win over Utah. The Cougars are the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 26-10 |
| 25 |  | Will Riley finished with 22 points and four assists in Friday's 88-80 win over Purdue. The Illini are the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 22-13 |
| 26 |  | Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 25 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 90-63 win over USC. The Bruins are the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 23-11 |
