Michigan State women’s basketball (15-13, 7-10) ended its regular season on a high note Saturday afternoon after defeating Penn State 81-75 on the road to solidify the team’s No. 9 seed going into the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In the tournament, the Spartans will be taking on the No. 8 seed Nebraska on Thursday, March 2, at 12:30 p.m. EST. The winner of that contest will move on to take on No. 1 seed Indiana on Friday, March 3, at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Michigan State went head-to-head against Nebraska just one other time this season where the Spartans lost to the cornhuskers 71-67 on the road. MSU’s last meeting against Nebraska was just five days after Michigan State head women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant was involved in a single-vehicle accident caused by a medical incident that has kept her from returning to her position with the team since.
After dropping the three games following Merchant’s accident, the Spartans have stepped up to win four of their last five contests.
MSU has one less game under its belt than most of the Big Ten due to the cancellation of the matchup between Michigan State and Purdue that was set to take place just two days after the mass shooting on MSU’s campus. Despite the game cancellation, a Spartan win or loss against Purdue would not have affected the Big Ten tournament seeding in any way.
