Big Ten Media Poll: Michigan State Picked To Finish 2nd In Conference Standings

The Spartans have high expectations entering the 2023-24 season, but most of the Big Ten Conference's media expect MSU to fall short of a league championship...

College basketball is just under one month away from tipoff, and expectations remain high for Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans heading into the 2023-24 season.

In a preseason media poll released Monday, conducted by The Columbus Dispatch and The Athletic, MSU was picked to finish second in the Big Ten Conference standings behind reigning league champion Purdue. The poll includes voting from 28 media members throughout the conference — two beat writers for each program.

The Spartans received four out of 28 first-place votes, while the Boilermakers received the other 24.

Michigan State is coming off a 2022-23 season which saw it go 21-13 overall and finished fourth in the Big Ten with an 11-8 mark in conference play. The Spartans return the majority of their roster from a season ago, and add a Top 5 recruiting class to a deep crop of veterans.

MSU is led by arguably the best backcourt in the country in guards A.J. Hoggard, Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins. In the same poll, Walker was a preseason first team All-Big Ten selection, while Hoggard was selected to the second team. Akins and fifth-year senior Malik Hall also received votes.

In addition to those four, senior center Mady Sissoko returns in the frontcourt alongside sophomore centers Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, while sophomore guard Tre Holloman returns for a second season as well.

Like Michigan State, Purdue returns most of its production from a season ago, in which the Boilermakers won the Big Ten's regular season championship by three game, and went on to win the Big Ten Tournament title. Purdue returns all five starters from last year's squad, including the reigning National Player of the Year in 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey.

Edey was the media's pick to win Big Ten Player of the Year again in 2023-24, and was the only unanimous selection for first team all-conference.

At the other end of the preseason poll, the Spartans' in-state rival, Michigan, was picked to finish 11th in the conference in head coach Juwan Howard's fifth season leading the program. The Wolverines lost their top three scorers — center Hunter Dickinson (transferred to Kansas), forward Kobe Bufkin (NBA Draft) and forward Jett Howard (NBA Draft) — this offseason.

Big Ten predicted finish

(first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Purdue (24), 388 points
2. Michigan State (4), 368 points
3. Maryland, 304 points
4. Illinois, 301 points
5. Wisconsin, 276 points
6. Indiana, 244 points
7. Ohio State, 228 points
8. Northwestern, 195 points
9. Iowa, 164 points
10. Rutgers, 147 points
11. Michigan, 131 points
12. Nebraska, 90 points
13. Penn State, 71 points
14. Minnesota, 33 points

Big Ten Player of the Year

Zach Edey, Purdue (27)
Tyson Walker, Michigan State (1)

Big Ten Freshman of the Year

Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana (19)
DeShawn Harris-Smith, Maryland (5)
Xavier Booker, Michigan State (2)
Myles Colvin, Purdue (1)
Scotty Middleton, Ohio State (1)

First Team All-Big Ten

Zach Edey, Purdue (56, unanimous)
Jahmir Young, Maryland (55)
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (55)
Tyson Walker, Michigan State (46)
Boo Buie, Northwestern (45)

Second Team All-Big Ten

Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers (36)
A.J. Hoggard, Michigan State (26)
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State (11)
Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska (11)
Coleman Hawkins, Illinois (8)

For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @SpartanNationPodcast
• Follow us on Facebook: @SpartanNation
• Follow us on Twitter: @mlounsberry_SI | @a3danm