The first half of the 2024-25 regular season is in the books and Michigan State basketball is sitting at 14-2 with 15 games remaining. Even going just 10-5 in those games will likely have this team as a top-five seed when the NCAA Tournament rolls around, but there's a lot of work to be done.
The Spartans have looked much better than anyone expected when the season began as they were unranked to start the year, but played well in Spain against professional teams as well as in the preseason to really give fans a taste of what to expect.
Now that there are just 15 regular-season games left, we can do a mid-year synopsis of what this team has been about and what we can expect from the second half.
Before we dive into previews for the final 15 games, let's talk about some valid (and not-so-valid) overreactions from the first half of the season.
1. AJ Hoggard dragged the team down
I've seen a lot of this overreaction being tossed around and while I don't totally agree with it, I do think there's something to be said about Tom Izzo saying that this team has become more coachable and less drama than it's been over the past few years and the fact that it's playing its best and most cohesive basketball since Cassius Winston ran the point.
Was Hoggard a bad player? No, I think he was solid and there were moments when we were all thinking he could be the next great point guard at MSU, but he just wasn't consistent.
On top of the inconsistency, he would showcase some poor body language which came off as blaming teammates for mistakes on the court. It just felt like the team ran a little clunkier with him at the point last year compared to Jeremy Fears running the team this year.
I don't think Hoggard was the sole reason MSU struggled in recent years, but I do think the point guard switch has aided this team tremendously.
2. This team doesn't have NBA talent
I don't know how many times I've heard this point made on Michigan State broadcasts, but it's just simply not true. It was even echoed the last time Michigan State took the floor on Sundy against Northwestern by Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson. It doesn't make sense.
"Oh this Michigan State team is really good and plays well together but there's no NBA talent on it which makes you wonder how deep it can really go in March."
Those are the types of statements we hear regularly regarding this team and it's just false. Michigan State is a team loaded with top-50 players and all four and five-stars and yet it doesn't have NBA talent and we should be worried that will hold the Spartans back in the NCAA Tournament? Not so fast.
While there are no standout "superstars" right now like a Denzel Valentine or a Cassius Winston, the Spartans have NBA talent in the likes of Coen Carr, Jaden Akins, Xavier Booker, Jase Richardson, and even Jeremy Fears Jr. if he keeps growing as a player. Heck, we still don't know what we have in Kur Teng or other fringe guys on the roster.
Stop saying this team doesn't have NBA talent because it absolutely does.
3. Michigan State basketball is back
This is a common overreaction and one that I'm actually leaning toward agreeing with.
Michigan State is "back" after a 14-2 start to the season and a 5-0 mark to open Big Ten play. This is the best start for Michigan State is years. The Spartans are also playing some of the best basketball that I've seen from the program in 5-6 years.
But it's still very early to say that Michigan State is "back" even though it truly feels like Tom Izzo has that passion back and this team has brought it out of him.
There's still a whole half of a season to go, but as long as the Spartans don't completely crumble in the final 1.5 months of the regular season, this overreaction will turn into a common reaction.