Tuesday is the real starting line for Michigan State basketball, with practice opening 41 days before the Nov. 2 season opener against Quinnipiac and only 10 days before the first exhibition against Incarnate Word. And for a program with national title aspirations, the margins are already pretty clear: the Spartans need a few things to break right if they’re going to match the noise around them.
The biggest piece of good news for Tom Izzo came in the form of Jeremy Fears Jr. coming back. Fears withdrew from the NBA Draft and will return for his fourth season in East Lansing, a move that had been expected for a while - even if the timing made people sweat a little. After a strong showing at the NBA Combine, he waited until about 90 minutes before the deadline to announce he was staying in college.
That decision keeps one of the country’s best guards in place, and maybe the best passer in the sport. Fears has kept climbing since his recovery from being shot in the leg during his true freshman year, and last season was the one where everything really took off. He averaged 15.2 points per game and led the nation with 9.4 assists per contest, earning All-American honors.
The next step is obvious: can he sharpen the one thing that still gives defenses a way in? Fears shot 32.1% from three last season on 3.1 attempts a game. If that number jumps into the high-30s, he becomes a nightmare to guard at this level.
The numbers around him are getting loud, too. EvanMiya.com ranks Fears as the top player in college basketball entering the 2026-27 season, with a gap between him and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner in second that is bigger than the gap from Tanner to 15th.
Michigan State’s biggest uncertainty sits at center, where the floor feels lower than anywhere else on the roster. The Spartans have three players who could log time there in 2026-27, but none comes in with a fully established track record.
Anton Bonke, the lone transfer in this offseason’s class, is expected to start at the five. He averaged 10.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game at Charlotte last year, though the Big Ten will be a different test.
Bonke also spent the 2024-25 season at Providence, where he barely played. Still, there’s real upside here: he’s 7-foot-2, picked up basketball late, and has a three-point shot.
Behind him are Jesse McCulloch and Ethan Taylor. McCulloch, now in his third year, appeared off the bench in 28 games last season and averaged 2.4 points per game, but he was removed from the regular playing group in late February and March.
Taylor arrives as a high four-star recruit, but he reads like a player who may need time before he’s truly ready. He’ll get chances, yet it would be a surprise if he jumps straight into a 20-minute role.
Even with the questions, Michigan State knows where its headliners are. Fears and Coen Carr give the Spartans a clear pair of stars, with Fears bringing the nation’s best distribution and Carr capable of flipping a game with one explosive finish. The issue is finding the next layer of talent that can join them.
That’s where the 2025 recruiting class comes in. Jordan Scott should turn more heads on the NBA side this season because of his motor, his shooting, and the length and versatility he offers defensively. He has the look of a player who won’t need all four years of eligibility before he’s ready for the next level.
Cam Ward is another name Izzo clearly valued. The staff thought highly of him through his freshman year and believed even more could have been there if not for an early-season wrist injury. Ward also became easy to root for thanks to his effort, upbeat personality, and physical style.
In the backcourt, Michigan State is counting on two freshmen with a lot of attention attached to them: Carlos Medlock Jr. and Jasiah Jervis. Medlock is positioned to back up Fears at point guard, but his ballhandling and creativity suggest he’ll be on the floor more than just during the 8-10 minutes Fears rests.
Jervis, the top-rated player in Michigan State’s 2026 class, is a shooting guard, which lines up with the area that hurt the Spartans most last season. He probably won’t open as a starter, but he has the kind of profile that could push his way into the first five over time, much like Scott did a year ago.
In Other News...
Michigan State Fans Just Got A Real Pat Fitzgerald Rebuild Test
Michigan States latest trip through a marquee nonconference test offered a little more resistance than the recent scores suggested, even in a 27-10 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame. The Spartans were beaten by a contender, but the margin was closer than in recent years, and that alone gives a clearer sense of where the rebuild stands under Pat Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald still came away dissatisfied, which is hardly surprising for a coach trying to reset expectations while trying to move the program forward at the same time. He has pointed to the need for continued hard work, the importance of recruiting, and the short window he has to keep building this roster, and games like this are the kind that show both the progress and how much remains unfinished. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Faces A Bigger Nebraska Test Than Fans Expected
Michigan State heads into Saturdays 5 p.m. ET kickoff on the Big Ten Network trying to steady itself after taking its first loss and moving to 2-1. Nebraska, meanwhile, is unbeaten at 3-0, though the Cornhuskers have built that record against lower-tier competition, which has left a little uncertainty about how sturdy their start really is.
The matchup is drawing a sharper analytical read than the betting market. SP+ sees Nebraska holding a clear edge and expects the Cornhuskers to pull away by a wider margin than the current line suggests, a sign that this could be a tougher test for the Spartans than some fans were expecting. For Michigan State, the bigger question is whether the result will confirm Nebraska as a legit step up or show that the gap is not as wide as the numbers imply. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Has A Few Rising Players Who Could Change Big Ten Play
Michigan State finished its non-conference slate with a little of everything, including wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan and a loss to Notre Dame, and the next stage of the season figures to hinge in part on a handful of younger players. The Spartans have already shown a willingness to mix in second-string quarterback Cam Fancher in specific offensive situations, while tight end Jayden Savoury and wide receiver Charles Taplin have been earning more run as the staff looks for answers and depth across the lineup.
Those incremental changes matter because the Big Ten grind tends to reward teams that find useful pieces before the league schedule settles in. Trey Lisle, a transfer on the defensive line, also saw a bigger workload against Notre Dame, a sign Michigan State may have more flexibility in how it deploys him if the rotation keeps expanding. For a team still sorting out its identity, those rising roles could become the difference between simply getting through September and finding something more sustainable when conference play gets going. [Read more 🡒]