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March Madness 2019: 10 teams that will bust your bracket

By Nate Williamson

ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 09: Wisconsin Badgers forward Ethan Happ (22) plays defense during a regular season Big 10 Conference game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan Wolverines on February 9, 2019 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 09: Wisconsin Badgers forward Ethan Happ (22) plays defense during a regular season Big 10 Conference game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan Wolverines on February 9, 2019 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 17: Michigan State Spartans forward Xavier Tillman (23) celebrates with Michigan State Spartans guard Cassius Winston (5) after a play during a Big Ten Tournament Championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans on March 17, 2019, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 17: Michigan State Spartans forward Xavier Tillman (23) celebrates with Michigan State Spartans guard Cassius Winston (5) after a play during a Big Ten Tournament Championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans on March 17, 2019, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

No. 9: Michigan State Spartans

This wasn’t an easy one to put on this list, but the injury to defensive specialist and shooter Kyle Ahrens really did me in. After an admirable effort to secure that they not only beat Michigan for a third time this season, but also won both the regular season and conference tournament for the Big Ten, I worry about the Spartans going down the stretch.

Earlier in the season, Michigan State lost some big games down the stretch, including three straight losses to Purdue, Indiana and Illinois. The Indiana and Illinois losses hurt, with those two teams missing the NCAA Tournament. Illinois was historically underwhelming this year, and Indiana struggled on nights where freshman star Romeo Langford was off.

Though the Spartans fired back with five straight wins, including one over Michigan, and finished the regular season on a two-game win streak, once again beating Michigan, this team has a propensity to struggle on the road. They have been plagued with injuries over the course of a tough Big Ten season, including the games listed above, but have struggled to perform at times during the season.

After watching them play during the Big ten season, and now after losing Kyle Ahrens in the Big Ten tournament’s finale on Sunday, I’m wary to go with Michigan State getting too far into this year’s tournament without being subject to an upset.

Though the team is strong, and certainly plays with a lot of heart as seen by their response to Ahrens’ injury, they are subject to stutter (as in seasons past) if Cassius Winston has an off evening. Now missing both Ahrens and Joshua Langford, who fell victim to injury earlier in the year, it’s going to be a tough showing for Michigan State once they get into deeper rounds.

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