It's been a rough day for those hoping for Tom Izzo's second national title in 2026-27 because two of his biggest Big Ten title competitors just got a whole lot better.
Entering the 2026-27 season, Michigan State figures to have top competition like Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, and Purdue pushing the Spartans once again for a Big Ten title. There are also rising programs like UCLA, USC, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, and Indiana. Well, two of those teams mentioned just got a whole lot better which will make Michigan State's job even tougher.
Illinois was one of the teams that got better, returning four of their top eight scorers from a Final Four team over the past 24 hours in David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Jake Davis. They all announced their return and Illinois also brings in a top 20 recruiting class to go along with one of the better shooing guard transfers in Stefan Vaaks from Providence.
The other Big Ten competitor to get a whole lot better this week was Indiana. The Hoosiers beat Michigan State out for both Samet Yigitoglu and Aiden Sherrell, pairing those two with Notre Dame transfer Markus Burton, Villanova transfer Bryce Lindsay, Georgia Tech's Jaeden Mustaf, and Duke's Darren Harris. The Hoosiers now have the No. 1 transfer class in the country.
Is this bad news for Michigan State? Absolutely. That just means that Indiana is going to join the fold of the top teams in the conference and legit Final Four contenders. The Big Ten just got tougher, but that could also prepare the Spartans for March. It's also bad news because of the obvious losses of Sherrell and Yigitoglu.
Izzo needs to respond in the portal.
Anton Bonke has to be atop Tom Izzo's list of priorities
Although he wasn't considered a priority even two days ago, 7-foot-2 Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke needs to be at the top of Izzo's checklist heading into the final days of the portal window.
Bonke is what some may call a project at center because he started playing so late in life, but he has the potential to be a really good defender as well as lob threat for Jeremy Fears Jr. And he's not just a dunker, he hit over 34 percent of his threes as a 7-footer in 2025-26.
Michigan State's biggest competition got better this week and that just means that he needs to respond with an impactful addition of his own.
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