Michigan State Basketball: 3 reasons to be optimistic about 2020-21 season

The 2020-21 Michigan State basketball season is right around the corner and there are plenty of reasons to be excited about this year’s team.

Say goodbye to Cassius Winston, Xavier Tillman and Kyle Ahrens. That’s a ton of leadership lost from three straight Big Ten titles and many fans are worried about the direction the Spartans may take without some all-time MSU greats.

After a third consecutive Big Ten title, Michigan State is searching for adequate replacements for Winston and Tillman which won’t come easily.

Michigan State enters the 2020-21 season as the preseason No. 13 team in the country which isn’t quite the same as last season when it was ranked No. 1 and had a massive target on its back. Now, the Spartans are chasing teams like Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa in the Big Ten as those three are the favorites to win the conference and they’re all ranked in the top 10 nationally.

In order to four-peat, there will have to be a lot that goes Michigan State’s way. For starters, the Spartans need to remain healthy and get Josh Langford back to as close to 100 percent as he can be. And then Michigan State needs some younger guys or veterans who haven’t quite broken out yet to step up.

If those two things happen, Michigan State will be in good shape this season.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this year’s team but here are the three that stand out.