This surprising Michigan State basketball lineup is rated the Big Ten’s best

We saw a night-and-day difference between Michigan State basketball’s performance against Minnesota and its showing versus No. 5 Illinois.

The Spartans were confident offensively, hit shots from deep, the mid-range area, and got to the rim with ease thanks to Jeremy Fears. If Michigan State plays like that offensively for the remainder of the season, there are only a few teams who will be able to slow the Spartans down.

Michigan State also has one of the best lineups in college basketball, and it’s not even the starting five, according to analytics.

Evan Miyakawa is one of the best analytics experts in college basketball, and he listed the top performing lineups in the country this season. You might be surprised at which Michigan State lineup made the list as the Big Ten’s best and top five nationally.

Coen Carr, Carson Cooper, Jeremy Fears, Jaxon Kohler… and Kur Teng. That’s Michigan State’s most effective lineups and the best in the Big Ten, apparently.

Houston, Arizona, and Iowa State are the only teams with better lineups, per Miyakawa.

That’s right, Michigan State has a more effective lineups than Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska, and even better than Duke, Kansas, and Florida. This is one of the best teams in the country, and the analytics prove it.

Kur Teng is the surprise in Michigan State’s “best” lineup

If you were surprised to see Teng as the shooting guard in Michigan State’s “most effective” lineup, you weren’t alone. I thought for sure the best lineup would have had either Divine Ugochukwu or surely Jordan Scott, but the metrics love how Teng complements Michigan State’s four usual starters.

Scott has been a great addition to the starting lineup, but he’s not as effective as Teng, apparently. I disagree with that, but the numbers don’t.

Michigan State’s best lineup, in my opinion, is still Fears, Scott, Carr, Kohler, and Cooper, but having guys like Teng, Cam Ward, Jesse McCulloch, and Trey Fort coming off the bench proves that this team has the depth necessary to make a run at a title.

I mean, how can the Big Ten’s best lineup not have a chance at a title?