Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

By Adam Childs

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 17: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany presents head coach Tom Izzo the championship trophy after the Michigan State Spartans beat the Michigan Wolverines 65-60 in the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 17: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany presents head coach Tom Izzo the championship trophy after the Michigan State Spartans beat the Michigan Wolverines 65-60 in the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

1. Michigan State

The Spartans are loaded this year and should be the number one team in the country when the first poll comes out this year. They have talent, experience, the reigning Big Ten player of the year, and oh yeah they have Tom Izzo leading the way.

This is 100% Michigan State’s conference title to lose this year as most teams have too many question marks to look like serious threats. That doesn’t obviously mean that the Spartans are going to be handed the trophy, but they have to be one of the biggest favorites in any conference this year.

Cassius Winston returns to help lead the way and he does it better than almost anybody else in the country. He was the Big Ten’s top honor last year and is a favorite to win national player of the year this year. He could be even better as he gets his backcourt mate back in Joshua Lanford who missed most of last year with a leg injury. Having him back gives the Spartans possibly the two best players in the conference playing next to each other. They both can put up a ton of points and are big assists men also.

Add in big men Xavier Tillman and Aaron Henry and this team is stacked. The only concern may be their lack of depth in the frontcourt, but they are so good at pretty much position that it may not matter. There may be a game where foul trouble gets the best of them, but it probably won’t happen much.

Next. Most feared programs in recruiting. dark

They do have a rough schedule, but that should just get them ready for the Big Ten. Right now Michigan State is by far the best team in the conference and it looks like it could be that way all year long.

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