Projected as the Big Ten's fifth-best team in the preseason, Michigan State made a mockery of the official media poll by winning the regular-season title by three games. The seventh-ranked Spartans played so well down the stretch -- beating five Top 25 opponents during their active seven-game winning streak -- that virtually every bracketologist believes Michigan State has clinched a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. So that begs the question: What will motivate the top-seeded Spartans (26-5) as they prepare to face eighth-seeded Oregon (24-8) on Friday afternoon in the Big Ten tournament's first quarterfinal at Indianapolis?
Hot sides clash as No. 7 Michigan St. opposes No. 23 Oregon
