I hate to be that guy, but the Duke game this year might just end up being one of the toughest non-conference games that Tom Izzo has ever coached in. The Blue Devils are loaded from top to bottom and they’re looking like the early favorite to cut down the nets in April.
Long story short, Michigan State is going to have its hands full on Nov. 10 at the Champions Classic.
Duke and Michigan State are going to give college basketball fans a legitimate Final Four preview, but knowing how the Selection Committee likes to do the Spartans, it’ll be an Elite Eight matchup. There’s about a 99.7% chance that Michigan State is paired in the same region as Duke with both being the top two seeds. It’s inevitable.
It’s either that or Michigan State will face Xavier Booker in the NCAA Tournament or Jaxon Kohler if he decides to come back and transfer. Although the NCAA just released a statement basically saying that 2026 seniors will not be grandfathered in to the new age-based eligibility model.
Michigan State could use Kohler for this season’s Duke matchup actually. Izzo just needs to take one look at Duke’s size in the post and immediately get on the phone with the NCAA to lobby for a fifth year for Kohler.
Duke’s frontcourt last season:
— DukeMuse (@DukeMuse) July 24, 2026
C Ngongba: 6’11”, 250 lbs
F Boozer: 6’9”, 250 lbs
F Brown: 6’9”, 225 lbs
Duke’s frontcourt this season:
F/C Boumtje Boumtje: 7’2”, 250 lbs
F Williams: 7’0”, 215 lbs
C Ngongba: 6’11”, 250 lbs
F Sharnowski: 6’10”, 240 lbs
C Mayer: 7’1”, 225 lbs
This is basically the Monstars (Space Jam, anyone?). Duke is one of the most loaded teams that I can remember and the size that the Blue Devils possess is something out of a nightmare.
The Spartans’ all-new frontcourt is going to be tested early.
Michigan State’s frontcourt needs to grow up quickly
The frontcourt is going to look completely different this season with the departures of Kohler and Carson Cooper which means that an unproven new-look frontcourt is going to get the test of a lifetime within the first two weeks of the season.
Anton Bonke is assuming Cooper’s role and Cam Ward or Kaleb Glenn will get the power forward spot. Behind them, Ethan Taylor and Jesse McCulloch are also unproven and Julius Avent hasn’t played a minute of college basketball yet. This is a scary matchup for the Spartans.
Duke has three 7-footers and five guys over 6-foot-10. Michigan State has two 7-footers and three guys over 6-foot-10. This could be a bad matchup for the Spartans in the post.
This group needs to grow up quickly in the first week of the season.
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