Michigan State basketball is the best team in the 2021-22 Big Ten

Michigan State basketball looked elite in all its games and when you take a deeper dive into the stats, it’s evident that it’s the top team in the league.

Michigan State basketball is now 13-2 on the year and 4-0 in conference play. All year, the Spartans have looked like an elite team, even in those two losses they have on the year.

This year, Spartans have shown they can be elite on both offense and defense. But are they still the best team in the Big Ten even with the higher-ranked Purdue in the conference?

The Spartans’ defense is elite

So far this year, Michigan State’s defense has been one of the most telling signs that it could be something special. The Spartans are currently No. 8 in the nation in total blocked shots with 95 blocks, along with averaging 6.5 blocks per game, which makes them No. 1 in the Big Ten. The main reason for this is because of senior Marcus Bingham Jr. Who is 17th nationally and third in the Big Ten.

Another example of them being a great defensive team is in the steals category. The Spartans are sixth in the conference in steals with the only other teams ahead of them being, Nebraska, Iowa, Rutgers, Northwestern, and Minnesota. Tyson Walker leads the Spartans in steals with 22, which also ranks him eighth in the conference.

Now let’s get down to how well teams are shooting against the Spartans this year.

In the 15 games MSU has played, teams are only shooting 39 percent from the field and have only allowed 983 points total this year. Kansas was the team who scored the most on the Spartans so far this year, 87 points, which was the first game of the season, and since then MSU has improved greatly.

With teams only shooting 39 percent from the field the Spartans defense is even better when it comes to not allowing 3-pointers to hurt them. Teams are shooting only 28 percent from deep this year, which makes them second in the conference.

Is the Spartans’ offense just as good as their defense?

Michigan State has had a bad turnover problem this year. It has 217 turnovers as a team this year, and though they have been winning consistently, that number needs to change and they need to get better at protecting the basketball.

Though they have the most turnovers, their assist/turnover ratio isn’t the worst. They rank right in the middle of the pack with the ratio being 1.17 which is seventh in the Big Ten. This just shows they have the potential to be an even more elite offense but the turnover rate is the main cause of this offense not living to its full potential.

Now let’s look at how well the team is shooting so far this year. It has not been fantastic but it also has not been bad — 46 percent from the floor so far this year is not bad for the Spartans who average 76 points per game as a team.

With that being said, Michigan State is shooting 39 percent from three this year. With help from guys like Gabe Brown, Tyson Walker, Max Christie, Malik Hall, and Marcus Bingham down low to grab a lot of offensive boards, the Spartans do have a special team this year.

Who is the top contributor to the team?

This is hard to say because every Michigan State game you watch it seems another guy is stepping up into a big role. It’s a very balanced offense you see from Michigan State along they are all good at their things. But, if you had to pick one player it would probably have to be Marcus Bingham.

Bingham is averaging 10.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and shooting 58 percent from the field. He is finally starting to come into his own and become the player a lot of MSU fans and coaches expected him to be. He has established himself as one of the most dominant players in the Big Ten and is gonna be a key part of the success of the team as the season continues.

It is going to be a fun season for Michigan State basketball as the freshmen continue to improve and the team’s chemistry gets better.

As of right now, I think it is safe to say the Spartans are the best team in the conference, just based on the pure team stats and the fact when you get down to just wins and loses MSU is No. 1 with their 13-2 record and is 4-0 in Big Ten play.

One of the most exciting games this year is going to be Purdue vs. MSU to see really what team could be the best in the conference but right now though it is close I think it is safe to say that the best team in the Big Ten is the Michigan State Spartans.