Michigan State Basketball: Spartans found their groove back at a perfect time
By Ryan Kay
Is Michigan State destined to cut down the nets in April in Atlanta?
When evaluating teams this early in the season, looking at their competition and how they have fared away from home is very important. What is also important to note that the Big Ten can have nine teams qualify for the NCAA tournament based on the Big Ten’s impressive non-conference wins collectively. If Michigan State indeed wins the Big Ten and earns a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, you can see a path for the Spartans to win the national championship in 2020.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Michigan State currently has the highest chance to win the national title. If you are a believer in ranking systems that use metrics and not voters like the AP and Coaches polls, the Spartans are ranked very high.
Michigan State’s Current Rankings
The Spartans lost early in non-conference play losing their first game on a neutral court to Kentucky and then losing to Virginia Tech in Hawaii. Their last loss was at home against Duke over a month ago on December 4th. Besides those hiccups, Michigan State has won at Seton Hall, they have beat Georgia and UCLA on a neutral court, and they have defended their home court beating Michigan and Rutgers as well.
The Scarlet Knights, for example, are sitting alone in 2nd place in the Big Ten with their only loss in the Big Ten being against the Spartans. No one is claiming that the Spartans are perfect but they are playing very well of late.
Michigan State has won their last 8 games. Winston has scored 27 and 31 points in his last two games against Minnesota and Michigan. Xavier Tillman has scored 19 or more points in his last three games against Big Ten opponents and against the Gophers had 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 blocks, and 3 steals. The Spartans are turning up their defense but more importantly have been playing much better on offense especially in the 2nd half of games of late.
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The only team right now that can make a strong argument that they are the king of college basketball right now is Duke who beat Michigan State on their home court. But as mentioned earlier, this Spartan team has endured a lot this season and has found a way to rise up stronger than ever. Time will tell but a very strong case can be made that if not already, Michigan State is on their way to being the king of college basketball.