Where Michigan State Basketball Landed in Preseason AP Poll
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The official college basketball preseason rankings are out.
Michigan State basketball has had a lot of hype surrounding it this season. The Spartans bring back several key contributors from last season and a highly touted freshman class coming in. It's resulted in the program being ranked No. 6 in the nation in this season's preseason AP Poll.
Recent Preseason Poll History
The talk around the program in East Lansing is that this team can win the whole thing. Being placed at sixth validates that thought a little bit. Seven of the last 10 national champions were ranked in the top 10 entering the season, and one other team (2016-17 Villanova) was ranked 11th.
This is the 24th time in 32 seasons under Tom Izzo that MSU has been ranked inside the top 25 to begin a campaign. Such high expectations haven't been quite as normal lately, though. Michigan State began three of its prior five seasons to this one unranked. The Spartans began last year at 22nd in the country, but reached as high as seventh during the season before finishing at 11th in the final AP Poll.
Michigan State's last time being ranked this high entering a season was in 2023-24, when it began ranked fourth. Those sorts of expectations crashed and burned pretty quickly, though. MSU lost to James Madison during its season opener and was never inside the top 25 from the Nov. 27, 2023 poll onward.
Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr are the only two remaining players from that team. Fears said during the team's internal media day last week that the season went poorly because they "thought it was gonna be easy," and that he believes that this year's group seems more ready for the challenges ahead.
Why MSU Could Win It All
It's one thing to think that winning the whole thing is possible. It's another to do it. This team is justified in thinking they can do it, though. Michigan State has been knocking on the door of the Final Four two years in a row, falling to Auburn in the Elite Eight two years ago and then to eventual national runner-up UConn in the Sweet Sixteen last year.
Most title teams have that superstar, clear-cut All-American player. Michigan State has that in Fears. Carr's dunks can still change the momentum of games in an instant. He's gotten better every year he's been at MSU; another step from him would be huge. The Spartans have length, shooting, secondary shot creation, and depth. It's not clear yet what the fatal flaw could be.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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