It seemed all was lost for Michigan State one week ago. They had two consecutive games and with only five games remaining it seemed that their tournament hopes were lost. However, they decided to add two games to their schedule that were cancelled due to Covid earlier in the season. The Spartans now had to play seven games in 15 days including four opponents ranked in the top-5.

The Spartans started this stretch with a 78-71 comeback win at Indiana, but would have to face #5 Illinois Tuesday. After a slow start, the Spartans led for the final 35- minutes in a game that was described as “A street fight”.  Both teams were in deep foul trouble, but Michigan State was able to pull it out with their best performance of the season. This was a great win, that turned a lot of heads, but many experts still believed that the Spartans had a lot of work to do to even get on “the bubble”. Luckily, Michigan State would have another great opportunity to boost their resume, Thursday night against #4 Ohio State. This game was a struggle for the Spartans the entire way. Stars Aaron Henry and Josh Langford got into foul trouble early and had to sit most of the first half which took a toll, however State only trailed by 5 at the half. The Spartans hung around the entire game before taking the lead with 2-minutes to go and would hold on for a 71-67 victory.

Beating a top-5 opponent in consecutive conference games in no easy task, in fact the last time it happened was in 2013 when Villanova beat #5 Louisville and #3 Syracuse. The three consecutive wins have put Michigan State right in the heat of the “bubble” conversation. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, still has the Spartans on the outside looking in as they sit in the “first four out” but they still have to play Indiana next Tuesday who is part of the “last four in” group. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm on the other hand, has Michigan State in the field of 68, currently as an 11-seed playing Oregon in the First Four.

The Spartans still have four games remaining including back-to-back games against Michigan to finish the season, and the conference tournament, but based on their play the last week. Michigan State is well on their way to make their 22-year tournament streak reach 23-years.