I know it's a long leap from a neutral-court game in late November to the fires of March Madness, but Michigan State might look back on Tuesday's 68-63 loss to UCLA as the game that kept it out of the Final Four.

If you stayed up to watch, you know the Spartans had the game won despite massive foul trouble from Raymar Morgan and all of their bigs, an under-the-weather performance from Drew Neitzel, and rebounding woes unlike anything MSU has seen. UCLA is an excellent team and Kevin Love is a beast of a player, but with Darren Collison out with a knee injury the nation's No. 2 team was there for the beating.

So why will this matter come March? Because MSU is playing for a No. 1 seed and all the benefits that come with it, including a potential regional trip to Ford Field where the Spartans would stand a great chance of winning with the backing of a virtual home crowd.

There's a lot of season left and of course anything can happen, but bottom line is the Big Ten champ (Indiana or MSU, most likely) is competing for a top seed with the likes of North Carolina, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas. The Spartans still have games left against some good teams. North Carolina State, Texas, BYU. But nothing that would resonate like a win over UCLA. Those other teams, specifically ones that could be ticketed for the Midwest region — North Carolina or whoever wins the ACC will spend the second weekend in Charlotte (MSU found out how tough it is to beat the Tar Heels in Carolina in last year's tournament), and UCLA would stay out West in Phoenix — have their biggest splash games remaining. Memphis plays Georgetown (another potential 1 seed), Gonzaga and Tennessee. Kansas plays Arizona and at USC, and has some leeway for a stumble with guard Sherron Collins injured.

MSU is a fine team that's bound for a good season. Neitzel remains a potential All-American, Morgan looks more determined than ever, and the team will eventually own the glass. But home court is huge in the balanced game of college basketball, and the Spartans just squandered the inside track on having it come March.