Happy tip-off day, everyone. Michigan State basketball officially returns on Monday night with as the Spartans get set to face Quinnipiac.
Tom Izzo, Jeremy Fears Jr., and the Spartans have one thought in mind: a national title.
With the season beginning on Monday, it’s time to get bold.
Ethan Taylor makes All-Big Ten Freshman team
With Anton Bonke struggling, Ethan Taylor sees an opportunity and he’s going to seize it early on. I do believe that Bonke will improve and become a solid role player for the Spartans, but Taylor is going to take the reins at center and never look back.
Taylor will make the All-Big Ten Freshman team after putting up eight points, seven rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game as a plus defender and high-motor guy.
The pleasant surprises will continue.
Jasiah Jervis wins Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Jasiah Jervis has often been compared to Gary Harris, so it just makes sense that the former would become the latest to win an award that was first won at Michigan State by the latter. Harris was Michigan State’s first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Year winner back in 2013 and Jervis will become the latest in 2027.
Through a couple of exhibition games, Jervis has looked like a budding star and he’s going to be in that starting lineup consistently before we know it.
Jervis is going to have the best freshman year of any Spartan since Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2017-18 and he’ll end that nine-year drought of MSU having a Big Ten Freshman of the Year winner.
Michigan State goes 3-1 in non-conference gauntlet
Michigan State has four massive non-conference games of note — Duke, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Gonzaga — and after watching the Spartans struggle against UConn and Marquette, fans are now more worried about these ranked matchups.
Those worries will melt away as the Spartans post a 3-1 record against the non-conference gauntlet mentioned above.
With a 3-1 record, that means that Michigan State is going to enter conference play with just one loss. Michigan State will take care of Arkansas and Gonzaga in tight, thrilling battles and it’ll come down to Duke and Tennessee for that one loss. Michigan State splits those and I think the loss is Duke because, well, Izzo historically struggles with the Blue Devils — and they’re loaded.
We’re going to see several potential Final Four previews and MSU wins three of them.
Jeremy Fears Jr. wins national player of the year
Is this really that bold anymore if Jeremy Fears is the early favorite to win the national player of the year award? Probably not, but considering the fact that Michigan State has never had a Naismith Award winner since the award’s debut in 1969. It’s kind of hard to believe that no Spartan has ever won the award, but Fears will change that.
Trying to live up to sky-high expectations would crush a lot of college athletes, but Fears loves the pressure and he thrives under it.
Fears will get off to a slower start to the season offensively, but he’ll hit his stride by mid-November and he’ll continue that throughout the remainder of the year. The junior point guard will average 18 points, 9.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and he’ll shoot 36 percent from three. He’s going to be the straw that stirs Michigan State’s drink and a big reason the Spartans will be flirting with a No. 1 seed in March.
MSU earns a 1-seed, makes it to Detroit
Michigan State is finally going to get some respect from the selection committee this season despite not winning the Big Ten. The Spartans will lose the Big Ten regular season title by one game and it’ll all come down to that Illinois matchup that Brad Underwood and the Illini take.
The Spartans will have one of the best resumes in college basketball and they’ll earn a 1-seed along with Illinois, Duke, and UConn.
Then Michigan State will make it all the way to the title game in Detroit where it’ll earn a rematch with Duke — because of course — and the game will be a treat for the rest of college basketball. Unfortunately, the Spartans will be down 4-6 points for most of the game and after tying it up with a minute left, the Blue Devils will go down and hit the game-winning three.
Michigan State fans are heartbroken but Izzo reiterates that he’ll be back for another title run in 2027-28 and Fears joins him.
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