Michigan State Basketball: Ideal starting 5 for 2021 NCAA Tournament

With the NCAA Tournament set to begin for Michigan State basketball on Thursday night, what would the ideal starting five look like?

A play-in game isn’t exactly what Michigan State fans were expecting, but a month ago, no one thought the Spartans would even be dancing this March.

Getting in right now is all that matters and now it’s about surviving and advancing.

For Michigan State to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, it’ll need a consistent starting five and one that will allow the Spartans to get off to quick starts on both ends of the floor.

What should the starting five look like on Thursday night to kick off the NCAA Tournament against UCLA?

There’s been quite the revolving door at point guard for Michigan State this season, starting with Rocket Watts and then Foster Loyer and then AJ Hoggard even got a shot. Then Tom Izzo went back to Watts and Hoggard after Loyer’s injury and has even given Joshua Langford and Aaron Henry some time at the point.

But Michigan State is at its best when Watts is getting more minutes and playing to hunt his own shot. If that means he’s technically the point, but he splits time with Henry and Langford at the one, so be it. When he’s playing well, this team is tough to beat.

We saw what Michigan State is capable of when Watts is on his game as he dropped 21 points against Michigan, leading the Spartans to a huge season-ending win.

And there’s this:

So getting Rocket going is the key to Michigan State’s success and if he gets hot (will more likely happen if he’s starting), the Spartans could make a deep run.