Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n Click on the social media post<\/a> below to see the complete bracket projection from Connelly:<\/p>\n College Puck NXT<\/p>\n College Puck NXT also has the Spartans landing as the No. 1 seed in the Worcester Region, with a first round matchup against No. 4 seed Connecticut. There is a slight difference in the rest of the projected region, though, with the other first round matchup being No. 2 seed Providence playing No. 3 seed Cornell.<\/p>\n Click on the social media post<\/a> below to see the complete bracket projection from College Puck NXT:<\/p>\n College Hockey News<\/p>\n Adam Wodon of College Hockey News<\/a> is agreement with the others in Michigan State landing as the No. 1 seed in the Worcester Region with Connecticut being their opponent as the No. 4 seed. The other first round matchup in their region pits No. 2 seed Dartmouth against No. 3 seed Wisconsin.<\/p>\n Click on the social media post<\/a> below to see the complete bracket projection from College Hockey News:<\/p>\n JerBear<\/p>\n JerBear, who is arguably the best social media account out there for Michigan State hockey insight and coverage, posted<\/a> his thoughts on the Spartans possible draw on Sunday morning, with a similar projection to the other two bracketologists. JerBear has Michigan State landing as the No. 1 seed in the Worcester Region playing against No. 4 seed Connecticut, but with the other first round matchup in their pod being No. 2 seed Dartmouth vs. No. 3 seed Wisconsin.<\/p>\n Final Thoughts<\/p>\n It seems quite clear that there are some certainties in place for the Spartans based on the bracket projections and final NPI ratings: Michigan State is going to be the No. 1 seed in the Worcester Region and play Connecticut in the first round. There is an outside chance that the selection committee avoids placing Western Michigan (the final No. 1 seed) in the same region as conference rival Denver, and the Spartans end up in the Loveland Region instead. This is the only other scenario I could see for Michigan State as far as region placement, but also is unlikely to happen based on projections.<\/p>\n The unknown, though, is who will be the other two teams in Michigan State’s region. It’s hard to say who you would or wouldn’t want to face in a potential second round matchup, but I personally would rather not have another Big Ten team in their region. Especially a team like Penn State, who Michigan State handled throughout the regular season, but has the high-end talent where it’ll be a close game and the puck luck could flip the other way this time around. That, of course, is going down a wormhole of what if’s so for now, we will just wait to see how things play out in a few hours.<\/p>\n Contact\/Follow us @The SpartansWire<\/a>\u00a0on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774191740_148_87918640007-usatsi-27752066.jpg\")