With basketball season rapidly approaching, we’re going team-by-team in the Big Ten to assess where everyone stands and how things could shake out this year.
Michigan State entered last season with Final Four hopes, but the Spartans never quite met that potential. They fell out of Big Ten title contention and got mixed into the middle of the pack, finishing tied with IU and Iowa at 10-10 in conference play. MSU reached the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed and won its first-round game, only to lose to No. 1 seed North Carolina in the second round. And now, Tom Izzo has some really big pieces to replace this year.
WHO’S GONE:
- Tyson Walker (18.4 PPG) (exhausted his eligibility)
- Malik Hall (12.7 PPG) (exhausted his eligibility)
- A.J. Hoggard (10.7 PPG) (transfer — Vanderbilt)
- Mady Sissoko (3.3 PPG) (transfer — Cal)
WHO’S BACK:
- Jaden Akins, G (10.4 PPG)
- Tre Holloman, G (5.7 PPG)
- Xavier Booker, F (3.7 PPG)
- Jeremy Fears Jr., G (3.5 PPG)
- Carson Cooper, C (3.4 PPG)
- Coen Carr, F (3.1 PPG)
- Jaxon Kohler, F (2.0 PPG)
- Gehrig Normand (redshirted last season)
WHO’S NEW:
Transfer portal
- Frankie Fidler, F (20.1 PPG at Omaha)
- Szymon Zapala, C (9.8 PPG at Longwood)
Freshmen (Rankings from 247Sports Composite)
- Jase Richardson, G (four-star, No. 32)
- Kur Teng, G (four-star, No. 53)
- Jesse McCulloch, F (three-star, No. 171)
RETURNING MINUTES: 49.8 percent (per barttorvik.com)
Why it will work
Izzo is one of the best coaches in the country, and Michigan State has played in 26 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, the third-longest streak in NCAA history. The Spartans have finished under .500 in Big Ten play just once in Izzo’s now-30 seasons as head coach. The track record is so strong, it would be a major surprise if Michigan State is bad.
And part of what’s made Izzo so successful is his strong player development. He’ll need that to come through again this year, but there’s little reason to doubt it. Guys who previously played in secondary or reserve roles like Akins, Booker, Fears, and Holloman look primed for real steps forward this year. Booker, in particular, could be key — the Indianapolis product never really settled in last season, but if he can start to back up his major potential this season, he could quickly become one of MSU’s best players.
Fidler, Zapala, Carr, and Kohler could all also be useful pieces for MSU this season. And Richardson and Teng are two high-rated freshmen who could earn real roles as the season goes along.
Why it won’t
For as good as Izzo’s teams have been, the last four seasons in East Lansing have looked different. Before 2020-21, MSU hadn’t gone more than one year without winning either the Big Ten regular season title or the conference tournament since 2008. The Spartans finished first or second in the Big Ten (or tied for those spots) in nine of those 12 years, and they finished no lower in that span than tied for fifth. But Michigan State has just one top-five conference finish in the last four years. It’s been four seasons of good, but not great. If that trend continues, perhaps expectations for this team should remain tempered.
As far as the roster, it’s unclear if Michigan State has a player who can be a real alpha like Tyson Walker was for the last few years. MSU probably needs Akins to be that guy, and he’s good enough to take that step, but he has to prove himself in that primary role.
Our take
This team has both the depth and upside to be in the mix near the top of the Big Ten this season. There are scenarios where some players don’t take the projected steps forward and MSU’s season looks more like the previous four than the 12 preceding years. But this Spartans team has so much potential — of course, they entered last season with high hopes as well. Still, there’s plenty of talent on this roster for Michigan State to be one of the tougher teams in the conference, and it’s hard to bet against Izzo.
BIG TEN OUTLOOK: Contenders
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