Respected analyst has Michigan State No. 1 in his early 2026-27 rankings

One Shining Moment just played last night which means that we’re officially in the college basketball offseason, and Michigan State has some work to do if it’s going to get back to the top.

The Spartans won the Big Ten last year after a five-year drought and Tom Izzo has won 57 games over the past two seasons which is the best two-year stretch since Cassius Winston. The program is trending in the right direction with a top-five recruiting class coming in on top of a roster that doesn’t really lose much.

Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Jordan Scott, Cam Ward, Divine Ugochukwu, Kaleb Glenn, Kur Teng, and Jesse McCulloch are all expected back and joining them are Carlos Medlock Jr., Julius Avent, Jasiah Jervis, and Ethan Taylor. The roster is looking pretty deep and talented.

However, there’s a need at center that must be addressed before we start talking national titles.

One respected college hoops analyst believes, however, that Michigan State is going to be the favorite to win it all at the beginning of the season. Seth Davis shared his “never too early” top 25 projections for 2026-27, and the Spartans came in at No. 1 overall.

Michigan State is No. 1, Illinois is No. 2, and Michigan is No. 4. It’s a pretty loaded Big Ten at the top once again for next season, especially since he also put Wisconsin, Ohio State, Purdue, Nebraska, and Iowa in his preseason top 25. One-third of his top 25 consists of Big Ten teams.

Yet Michigan State tops them all.

Michigan State is an elite center away from living up to this

While I think No. 1 is a little too high right now, I do see Michigan State as a top-five team to begin the season, assuming no one surprising leaves. If the Spartans add a high-level center transfer, I think they can legitimately be the No. 1 team in the country to begin the year.

Living up to lofty expectations has always been tough on Izzo because he likes the underdog role, but I think he’d have the leaders on next year’s team to ensure that they don’t get “fat and sassy”.

The Spartans are loaded pretty much everywhere but center on next year’s roster, and Izzo has to spend relatively big if he wants to have a roster capable of winning it all.

I don’t know if any Spartan fan really loves seeing Michigan State projected as the No. 1 team, but it does show that Izzo has himself a squad and the pressure is on to deliver for the first time since 2000.