Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for 2018 Big Ten Tournament

March is officially here and the Big Ten Tournament is underway. Let’s take a look at five bold predictions concerning Michigan State.

The Big Ten Tournament is upon us and Michigan State has an opportunity to do something its done just three other times under Tom Izzo — win the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same year.

Heading into Friday’s quarterfinal, the Spartans have high expectations for the tournament despite the off-court distractions. Izzo addressed the media and said that his team won’t answer anything but basketball questions moving forward, which sent a strong message.

How will they respond to the newfound focused attitude that their head coach is employing? Here are five bold predictions for the Big Ten Tournament.

5. Xavier Tillman averages over 10 minutes per game

Through the first 31 games of the season, Xavier Tillman is averaging just 7.7 minutes per game. He’s a freshman big, playing the deepest position on the team. He’s forced to sit behind Jaren Jackson Jr., Nick Ward, Gavin Schilling and Kenny Goins but he doesn’t let that get him down.

Tillman knows his future in the green and white is bright and he could very well be in the starting lineup next season if Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges both leave (which is likely). Tom Izzo knows this and that’s seemingly why he’s given Tillman an increased role in the past two games. He’s averaging 10.5 minutes over the past two with 10 total points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

That may not seem like much, but Tillman is beginning to grow as a solid role player and once his conditioning is where Izzo wants it, he could be a 15-20 minute contributor. His increase in playing time will continue in the conference tournament as he will average over 10 minutes and put up 5.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a big spark off the bench.