Michigan State men looking good for March Madness in Cleveland

Next week will mark the fifth time the newly named Rocket Arena will host a men’s or women’s NCAA basketball tournament weekend.

Last year, it hosted the women’s final four and also the 2007 women’s final four. In 2011, it was the site for men’s first- and second-round games and the 2015 men’s Midwest Regional.

Before the venue formerly known as Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and now Rocket Arena, Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center was the first Northeast Ohio venue to attract March Madness to the lakefront — in 2000 and 2005.

That first time in 2000 saw top-seeded Michigan State and Coach Tom Izzo begin their march to a national championship at the Wolstein Center. The Spartans were the No. 1 seed in the Midwest and opened with wins over Valparaiso and Utah en route to the Spartans’ second national title in men’s basketball.

MSU is one of the country’s hottest teams at 26-5. The Spartans won seven straight to close out the regular season (four straight against ranked opponents) and claimed the Big Ten title.

Will it be 2000 all over again for Izzo and Spartans? Time will tell on that, but it appears likely MSU’s March Madness road will again begin in Cleveland.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi most recent tournament projection as of March 13 has the Spartans coming to Cleveland, along with seven other teams. Here’s the breakdown of the quadrants projected to come to Rocket Arena:

In the South Region (where Lunardi has Auburn the top seed playing in Lexington, Ky.), MSU is the projected No. 2 seed in the South playing No. 15 seed Bryant. In the opposite bracket, it’s No. 7 seed Missouri (led by former Cleveland State coach Dennis Gates) vs. No. 10 Utah State. The winner of that game would likely play the heavily favored Spartans in a second-round game.

Dates and times for the games will be announced during CBS’ selection show on March 16.

Lunardi also has another projected No. 2 seed coming to Cleveland as part of a quadrant in the East Region, where Duke is the projected No. 1 seed playing in Raleigh, N.C.

Tennessee (25-6) is marked by Lunardi to play No. 15 seed and Horizon League champion Robert Morris. The other projected first-round matchup is 7 seed Gonzaga vs. 10 seed Oklahoma.

The Robert Morris placement in Cleveland is interesting only because had Youngstown State or Cleveland State won the Horizon’s automatic bid, perhaps they could have been playing in the Cavaliers’ home arena next weekend.

MSU’s and Tennessee’s status as No. 2 seeds could hinge on their performance in the Big Ten and SEC tournaments, respectively. More specifically, an early exit from their league tournaments could affect seeds.

The Spartans’ first game in the Big Ten tourney is March 14 in a quarterfinal against Oregon. The Volunteers play either Texas or Texas A&M in an SEC quarterfinal on March 14.

Lunardi said there’s a “slight” chance MSU could earn a No. 1 seed if it wins the Big Ten tournament but that would depend on getting help from teams such as Houston, Florida and Alabama losing this weekend.