Bracketology 2020: Ranking the 16 teams from early bracket reveal

14. Michigan State Spartans (16-8, 8-5 in Big Ten)

It would be interesting to see how the Spartans would’ve been ranked in the preseason, with folks knowing that guard Joshua Langford would miss the entire season with a foot injury. They certainly wouldn’t have been ranked No. 1 overall but probably top-10.

As long as Cassius Winston (18.6 ppg and 5.9 apg) is on the court, Michigan State will be in just about any game. But in order for the team to have a chance, he has to go for nearly 20 points each game. That’s because outside of him and Xavier Tillman, the team’s underclassmen have struggled to produce on a consistent level. Unless Gabe Brown and Rocket Watts can provide some offense in the next month, the Spartans just don’t have enough to be a true contender.

13. Butler Bulldogs (18-6, 6-5 in Big East)

After being ranked as high as No. 5 in the AP polls, Butler has since lost five of eight games. At one point, they had arguably the best defense in the country but has given up at least 75 points in six of the last eight. The offense has struggled as well outside of Kamar Baldwin, with the role players struggling to step up.

Just by the defense alone, this team should be taken seriously by any opponent. But not many outside of Indianapolis are going to have the Bulldogs going to the Final Four unless Baldwin can go on a great individual run in March. And considering that wins such as Stanford and Florida aren’t looking as good lately, Butler could very well slide out the top-16 overall seeds altogether soon.