March Madness is officially here, and it’s a beautiful time to be a hoops fan. This year’s No. 1 seeds are no strangers to being at the top of everyone’s brackets: UConn, Houston, Purdue and North Carolina. For Spartan fans, it would be great to see a Michigan State NCAA tournament run. As it turns out, AI is going with No. 9 seed Michigan State University to pull off a huge upset against No. 1 seed North Carolina in the NCAA Tourney. Here’s the reasoning behind the potential Michigan State basketball upset.

Michigan State NCAA Tournament: AI Predicts Spartan Upset Over No. 1 Seed North Carolina

While filling out brackets during March Madness is nothing new, using artificial intelligence to fill out those brackets is a pretty new phenomenon. This year, I crafted my bracket without AI, but a bunch of my friends are trying to use AI to perfect the stats.

I’m a Michigan State fan and graduated from there. So, I always try to pick the Spartans to at least get to the Sweet 16 in my tournament bracket. However, this year, if they win against Mississippi State on Thursday (March 21), they’ll likely be competing against No. 1 seed North Carolina for the next game. Having a No. 9 seed beat a No. 1 seed isn’t unheard of, but it’s definitely a stretch. When I got to that point at my bracket, I definitely paused a lot. In the end, I went against my heart and picked North Carolina to win. But, I might change my pick after seeing what AI thinks of the Spartans. Never count out Michigan State NCAA Tournament magic, right?

The site Sportsbookreview.com asked AI to create the perfect bracket. Before they took to AI, they “established a set of basic criteria and methodology to instruct this project.” Basically, they programed the AI program to follow their instructions about how to go about picking the winners. So, they asked AI to predict each game of the NCAA Tourney using “team-specific and matchup data, as well as the latest college basketball odds and historical trends.” They also asked AI to “focus on making plausible but entertaining March Madness upset picks to reflect the typically chaotic nature of the NCAA Tournament.”

The fact AI was programed to specifically look for upsets helps make more sense of why AI went with the Spartans. MSU has a long history of making it to the NCAA Tourney. Head coach Tom Izzo knows how to guide his team in the Big Dance. That experience and know-how will come in handy this week.

Looking at the bracket that AI created using the Sportsbookreview.com criteria, AI has picked the Spartans to beat Mississippi State on Thursday (March 21) and then beat No. 1 seed North Carolina in the following game. It doesn’t stop there, either. AI has the Spartans advancing once more, beating Alabama to make it to the Elite Eight. Then, it has Michigan State falling to Arizona, with Arizona making it to the Final Four. For what it’s worth, AI picked Arizona, UConn, Houston and Purdue for the Final Four and UConn and Houston for the final game. They also have UConn winning it all.

I’ve never wanted AI to be more right than I do now. Seeing the Spartans making it to the Elite Eight would be a huge boost to this team and program. Here’s hoping for a long Michigan State NCAA Tournament ride. Go Green. Also, here are some bracket tips if you’re doing your bracket the old-fashioned way, without computer assistance. Best of luck with your tournament brackets. I’m curious to see what upsets play out this season, since it looks like quite a few could happen.