Michigan State Basketball: Best-case scenario starting lineup for 2020-21

This will be Michigan State basketball’s best possible starting lineup for the 2020-21 season.

This offseason for Michigan State basketball started earlier than usual as the Spartans were heading into the Big Ten Tournament as the favorite and looking at a potential No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team was trending in the right direction at the perfect time.

And then COVID-19 hit.

Michigan State went from “maybe this is Tom Izzo’s time to win No. 2” to “maybe next year” quicker than normal. His promising team won its third straight Big Ten regular-season title but had Cassius Winston‘s final run at Michigan State’s immortality cut short.

The Spartans struggled in the middle of Big Ten play, but quickly turned things around by the end of the year, going from unranked to No. 9 in the nation.

But the offseason has been unfortunate considering there is no timetable for the return of college hoops or the NBA draft. Izzo has to be facing plenty of pressure to finalize his roster with so many decisions still up in the air.

If all goes as planned, however, this will be the best-case scenario starting five for Michigan State in 2020-21.