Tom Izzo didn’t sound interested in handing out preseason crowns at Michigan State’s media day on Oct. 15, but the message underneath the sarcasm was hard to miss: this is a team he believes can matter.
The Spartans come into the season after a 27-8 run that ended with a Sweet 16 loss to UConn, and the buzz around East Lansing has them sitting near the top of the Big Ten in preseason conversations. Depending on who’s ranking them, Michigan State is either No. 1 in the league or just behind Illinois.
Izzo, as usual, wasn’t looking to get carried away. But he also wasn’t hiding the sense that this roster has something real.
At the center of it is Jeremy Fears Jr., who has already piled up major recognition before the games even start. He was named Big Ten player of the year and also earned preseason All-American honors. Izzo made it clear that the hype hasn’t gone to Fears’ head.
“He has shown me very little of entitlement, it’s my new four-letter word that I hate,” Izzo said. “And I don’t think he’s shown any of that over the summer.”
That matters because Michigan State isn’t just leaning on one star. Coen Carr looks ready to expand his game after flashes of takeover ability in last season’s NCAA Tournament, and the rest of the rotation has real depth to it.
Four freshmen are in position to help right away. Jesse McCulloch, Kur Teng and Kaleb Glenn are expected to take on bigger roles than they did a year ago.
Jordan Scott and Cam Ward, both sophomores, are easy to overlook but could end up being among the most important pieces. And then there are the two 7-foot-2 big men inside: freshman Ethan Taylor and Anton Bonke, the lone transfer.
Izzo didn’t shy away from the idea that this is one of his deepest groups.
“I don’t feel any shame in saying I think it’s one of our deeper teams,” Izzo said. “I think it’s a pretty talented team.
I don’t think it’s an elite talented team, but I think it’s a very talented team. And I think I got a good combination of some experience and some youth.”
That mix is part of what makes Michigan State interesting. The Spartans have enough returning pieces to know who they are, but also enough new blood to keep the ceiling moving upward. Izzo pointed to the mentality around the team, too, saying the players are carrying the edge of a group that felt its season ended too soon six months ago.
“I’ve got some driven guys, which I think is really a key right now,” Izzo said. “People are driven to be great, and when you fall down or you aren’t as successful, you either stay down or you jump up.”
The timing of all this only sharpens the spotlight. Michigan State’s exhibition against UConn is set for Oct. 20 at Breslin Center, and the broader college basketball landscape is still sorting itself out with rosters unfinished two weeks before the season. Izzo did his usual jab at the sport’s shifting roster picture while noting the challenge of knowing exactly where his own team stands this early.
“I think that’s been the hardest thing is to try to figure out where are you compared to who you gotta play,” Izzo said. “And that’s always important as far as expectations getting too far out of control, when they will get out of control, because we have one of the teams that’s a good team, and we all know the Final Four is in Detroit, and yet that has nothing to do with anything in the big picture.”
It’s not nothing, though, and Izzo knows it. Michigan State hasn’t been back to the Final Four since 2019, when Cassius Winston ran the point. The Spartans have also had their share of lessons in recent years, including the Elite Eight loss to Auburn two seasons ago and the quieter post-COVID stretches before Izzo settled in on this current direction.
For Izzo, the goal is plain enough. He made that clear when he summed up the competitive fire that still drives him.
“There ain’t nobody in the media, there ain’t no students at this university, there are no fans of the 600,000 living alums that wants to win more than I do,” Izzo said. “None. Zero.”
In Other News...
Michigan State Heads Into Northwestern With A Defensive Concern Fans Can't Ignore
Michigan States trip to Northwestern comes with an early look at the kind of injury report that can shape a Saturday before the ball is even kicked. The two teams released their initial availability reports, and the Spartans were hit harder on defense, where they are notably thin at cornerback and linebacker heading into the matchup.
There is at least a bit of relief in the update for Michigan State, with NiJhay Burt and Dion Crawford expected back in the lineup. Northwesterns report carries its own uncertainty, with tight end Luke Dehnicke and safety Robert Fitzgerald among the notable players listed as questionable or doubtful, but the Spartans will still be watching closely to see whether their defensive depth can hold up when the game arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Faces A Northwestern Problem Fans Havent Seen In Years
Northwestern is bringing a look Michigan State does not see very often, and it comes at a time when the Spartans are still sorting out how they want to handle a Big Ten opponent with some old-school flavor. Under new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the Wildcats have mixed in wing-T formations and receiver alignments that force defenses to process a lot at once, which makes the week as much about eye discipline and alignment as it is about tackling and leverage.
The challenge lands in a game with a few added layers of intrigue, too. Aidan Chiles is set to return to Spartan Stadium, and Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald will be lining up against his former team, giving the matchup a familiar backdrop even as the scheme on the other side looks anything but familiar. For the Spartans, the question is whether they can sort through the unusual looks quickly enough to keep Northwestern from turning a strange offensive plan into a real problem. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Suddenly Has A Depth Problem At The Worst Time
Michigan State is running into the kind of midseason injury pileup every team dreads, and it is arriving at an awkward moment. Heading into Week 7 against Northwestern, the Spartans are dealing with a long list of unavailable players on both sides of the ball, leaving the staff to patch together a lineup that has already taken on plenty of wear.
The problems reach across the roster, with top cornerbacks Tre Bell and Charles Brantley out, linebackers Jordan Hall and Brady Pretzlaff sidelined, running back Cam Edwards unavailable and backup quarterback Cam Fancher also not expected to go. That means Michigan State will have to lean hard on depth pieces just to stay afloat against a Northwestern team led by former Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles, turning what should have been a routine October week into a test of survival. [Read more 🡒]