Michigan State and St. John’s are sitting near the top of the board for the 2026-27 men’s college basketball Final Four, with betting analyst Mark Zinno listing the Spartans at +450 and the Red Storm at +590.
Michigan State’s case starts with continuity. Zinno expects the Spartans to win the Big Ten and make it through the first four rounds of the NCAA tournament, and the roster gives that projection some real weight.
Michigan State is bringing back 61% of its minutes from last season’s Sweet 16 team, along with five of its seven leading scorers. Jeremy Fears Jr. is already the preseason Wooden Award favorite at point guard, and the Final Four is set to be played in Detroit this season.
St. John’s is being priced as a team with a chance to break through to the Final Four for the first time since 1985.
Rick Pitino added Babacar Sane and Keyshawn Hall through the transfer portal, and both were in the season opener against Monmouth while waiting on eligibility rulings. Sane had previously signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Utah Jazz, while Hall came over from Auburn.
Sophomore Tounde Yessoufou, who averaged 17.8 points per game last season, is also drawing Wooden Award attention.
The Wooden Award board has Thomas Haugh out front at +850. The Florida senior forward was a major piece for last season’s No. 1 seed Gators, and his odds got a boost after Duke’s David Mirkovic had emergency appendectomy over the weekend, following earlier foot surgery. Zinno’s numbers also reflect that Tom Izzo has never coached a Wooden Award winner and that no school has produced three straight winners, two factors that shape the outlook for Fears Jr. and Duke’s John Blackwell.
In the Ivy League, Pennsylvania is the betting favorite at +235. Fran McCaffery guided Penn to the league tournament title and an NCAA berth in his first season, and the Quakers bring back four starters plus 6-9 forward TJ Power.
Power averaged 18.5 points and 7.8 rebounds against Ivy opponents while shooting 47% from three, and Penn owns the league’s highest KenPom net rating. Yale, last season’s most dominant Ivy team, returns only one starter.
In Other News...
Michigan State Faces Its First Real Test On A Quick Turnaround
Michigan State opened the season with a comfortable 96-59 win over Quinnipiac, but the real rhythm test arrives fast. The Spartans are already turning around for Thursdays matchup with Toledo, a game that should ask more of Tom Izzos group than the opener did and leave little time to dwell on what went right.
Izzo pointed to the challenge of having only two days to get ready, which is part of what makes this stretch worth watching early in the season. There is also the return of Jesse McCulloch to consider after he sat out the opener with a minor concussion, and his expected availability gives Michigan State another layer to sort through before a tougher opponent comes into view. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan States Best Upset Hope Looks Brutal Against Michigan
For a Michigan State team still searching for its clearest path to an upset, this rivalry game in Ann Arbor offers the kind of setting that can reset a season in a hurry. The Spartans head into the Big House facing a Michigan team that is favored by 13.5 points, but the matchup still has the ingredients that usually make this series feel bigger than the records attached to it.
Both offenses have struggled this season, which puts even more pressure on two defenses that have carried much of the load for each side. Under the lights, it figures to be a physical, tight Big Ten game where field position and mistakes may matter more than style points, and Michigan State will need to find some answers against a rival that has looked like the safer bet on paper. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Will Test The One Weak Spot In Michigan's New QB
Tommy Carr will get another chance to settle in as Michigans starter when he takes the field for his third straight game against Michigan State, and the matchup arrives with plenty of eyes on how he handles the moment. Head coach Kyle Whittingham has already made the call on the quarterback job, and Carr has given the Wolverines enough to like in recent weeks, including Big Ten Freshman of the Week recognition.
The next step is less about raw talent than timing, especially on the deep throws where Carr and Whittingham have pointed to some cleanup work. Michigan State, meanwhile, is preparing for the rivalry with the kind of extra attention that usually comes with this game, as the staff works to make sure players understand what it means. That gives the Spartans a clear place to test a young quarterback who has looked promising, but not quite finished. [Read more 🡒]