3 Reasons Why MSU Basketball Can Contend for National Title
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Michigan State is in the discussion of the nation's best a few months before the official start of the college basketball season.
The Spartans are widely considered to be a top-10 team right now. ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected MSU to be a 2-seed in next March's NCAA Tournament on Tuesday. Michigan State has been knocking on the door of contender status for the last two seasons now, but "national title" was not really a part of the Spartan vernacular. That's changing a bit now for several reasons.
Star Power
Most title teams have that one superstar that everyone can point to. Michigan had Yaxel Lendeborg last season. Florida had Walter Clayton Jr. the year before that. Obviously, building a championship team is much more complex than having one great player, but there still has to be an alpha.
What Michigan State has going for it right away is that there will be no doubt about who that alpha will be. The biggest news of the offseason for MSU was Jeremy Fears Jr.'s decision to return to the Spartans rather than stick with the NBA Draft. It was the expected result, but the fact that Fears waited until about 90 minutes before the deadline made many nervous.
Fears was an AP Second Team All-American last year. Don't be surprised if he's some people's preseason pick to be National Player of the Year this coming season. Especially with Purdue's Braden Smith now in the pros, there is really no point guard in college basketball that is close to Fears' pedigree as a distributor.
There is also plenty of room for Fears to get even better. He seems to have gained more explosiveness this offseason, as he's continued to recover from being shot in the leg as a freshman. The hope is also that Fears' three-point shooting improves; he shot just 32.1% from behind the arc last season. If Fears can get a step quicker while also becoming more consistent from deep, those NPOY chats will become very real, very fast.
Depth
The motto of the 2024-25 MSU team, "strength in numbers," was painted on the walls of the team's practice gym. Michigan State was regularly rotating in 10 guys every game that season. There were plenty of instances when it seemed the Spartans were just the less-tired team late in games, often coming back or surging ahead in the second halves.
MSU didn't get to enjoy that level of depth last year. The lack of it, especially in the backcourt after Divine Ugochukwu's injury, was one of the things that held the Spartans back. Only seven players played significant minutes in the Sweet 16 loss to UConn, with Tom Izzo also tossing a few minutes to Trey Fort and Denham Wojcik.
That'll be different this year. Michigan State has 12 scholarship players on its roster right now, and all of them feel like they'll at least have a chance to crack the rotation. It's going to be one of the best problems Izzo will have, because at least one or two guys have to eventually be phased out. Playing 11 or 12 every single game would just be extremely difficult to manage.
There are also at least two solid options at all five positions, as well as a decent contingency plan in the event of an injury. Star power is still very important, but the supporting cast for Fears is definitely stronger than last year's.
Lineup Versatility
There are also a ton of different lineup options Izzo can go with. Most of that has to do with the wings. Michigan State has Jordan Scott, who can swing between shooting guard and small forward. Kaleb Glenn can play either small forward or power forward. Coen Carr can play small forward or power forward.
It's more than the wings, though. Having Carlos Medlock Jr. as a backup point guard for whenever Fears needs a break is a pretty good situation. He'll be a needed change of pace, bringing a different style from Fears that opposing defenses must account for and plan for. Jasiah Jervis could play point guard if needed, too.
Izzo can go small if he needs to -- maybe he puts Fears and Medlock on the court at the same time. He can also go super big if he needs to -- how does 7'1" Ethan Taylor at power forward and 7'2" Anton Bonke at center for a stretch sound? Perhaps not ideal, but it would be interesting.
All in all, you've got a star and a deep supporting cast that has shooters, size, and length. There really isn't an obvious fatal flaw yet, though I'm saying this several months before the first exhibition game. On paper, this team certainly feels like it could be the best Michigan State has had since COVID ended the 2019-20 team's hopes of a big run.
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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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