It's not even August yet, but Michigan State basketball has been the topic of conversation for the past month because of the Moneyball Pro-Am.
We've seen newcomers take the court and look like more-than-capable contributors like Trey Fort, Divine Ugochukwu, and Cam Ward. The team is going to look a lot different next season, but the talent is there to defend that Big Ten title.
It feels early (because it is), but Joe Lunardi is already posting his ESPN bracketology projections and he has already updated them a few times with all the offseason moves and storylines.
Does he have Michigan State making the NCAA Tournament? Of course, but where will the Spartans be seeded? According to Lunardi, they're dropping from his previous projections to a No. 5 seed.
This feels like a fair spot for the Spartans. They were a No. 4 seed in his previous projections before the latest update, and I'm not sure what triggered the slight drop, but it could have something to do with Kaleb Glenn's season-ending injury. That clearly plays a role in all of these projections because he was expected to be a big piece on the 2025-26 team.
Lunardi has the Spartans facing Illinois State in Buffalo in the first round. The winner of that game will play Arkansas in round two -- the Spartans face John Calipari's Razorbacks in the regular season.
Michigan State does bring back plenty of talent from Jeremy Fears Jr. to Jaxon Kohler to Coen Carr, so I could see them earn a top-three seed for a second straight season.
But again, it's too early to even project that. Tell that to Lunardi.