Michigan State Basketball: 3 reasons Xavier Tillman will return in 2020-21

1. Good chance to win a national title, cement legacy

Besides things to work on, one of the biggest draws of coming back for a senior season at Michigan State has to be cementing a legacy and contending for one last national title.

At Michigan State, there’s always that luxury of playing for a title contender, save a couple of exception years. Despite losing Cassius Winston, the 2020-21 team will be one of the more talented in the Tom Izzo era, especially if rumors are true that Josh Langford actually wants to come back and play at full-strength for the Spartans.

That would mean Langford is back along with Rocket Watts, likely Aaron Henry, Gabe Brown, Marcus Bingham Jr., Joey Hauser and then if Xavier Tillman returns, that’s a top-five team.

Tillman is the kind of player whose legacy is extremely important to him. He loves Michigan State and the fanbase loves him. He knows that if he decided to come back in 2020-21, he would be welcomed the way that Miles Bridges was in 2017-18.

Will there be pressure to have a career year? Absolutely, but he’s ready for it. He will be the senior leader and the main post presence for the Spartans.

Michigan State’s 2019-20 season was cut short because of COVID-19 and many believe the Spartans were playing the best of any team in the country after winning the Big Ten, so it hurt when the NCAA Tournament was cancelled. Tillman could come back and win a title in his last go-round and cement his legacy as one of the all-time MSU greats.