NCAA Basketball: 5 biggest winners from 2021-22 preseason KenPom rankings

Michigan State

Few programs endured as historically of a disappointing season as the Michigan State Spartans, who kicked off the 2020-21 season as one of three reigning Big Ten regular-season champions after stellar careers from Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman.  Despite losing both to the NBA, the Spartans were still highly touted ahead of last year, entering the AP ranks at 13th, and – after toppling Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, ascended as high as fourth in the AP Poll.

After pouring 109 points on Oakland, however, all went wrong for Michigan State, with Tom Izzo’s crew logging an 0-3 start to the Big Ten schedule after blowout losses to Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Minnesota – and, eventually, would go 2-7 in conference play to begin February.  Late-season wins over Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan kept the Spartans’ season alive, however, and afforded Michigan State a trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they would fall in the First Four to UCLA in overtime.

Despite posting top-100 efficient offenses and defenses, per KenPom, Michigan State was abysmal on the offensive end, recording sub-200 clips inside and outside the three-point arc, and struggled mightily scoring the ball on numerous occasions, logging at least seven games where the Spartans scored under 60 points – including a woeful 67-37 loss at Rutgers.  Unsurprisingly, MSU’s KenPom ratings reflected their woes, where their first rank of 11th dropped as low as 69th – and ended at 64th.

With their old core group of Aaron Henry, Rocket Watts, and Joshua Langford now gone, the torch will now pass to Joey Hauser – who was a force shooting inside the arc at 61.2% – and Gabe Brown, who ranked in the top 500 in 2P% (54.4%) and 3P% (42.0%).  Neither were the Spartans’ most significant contributor, with that title belonging to Henry – but both averaged over seven points and two caroms a game, and will be expected to up their numbers dramatically.

But what also makes Michigan State such an intriguing comeback team is the addition of Max Christie, the 13th-ranked shooting guard in the nation and a five-star recruit.  Christie has already impressed as a newcomer for the Spartans, having poured in 17 points in 19 minutes in Michigan State’s 34-point exhibition win over Ferris State.  Additionally, Western Michigan transfer Tyson Walker – the reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year – showed promise in the exhibition, registering six points, five assists, and three steals.

With eight Big Ten teams seeing jumps in the KenPom ratings, none of them received as drastic of an ascension as the Spartans, who went from 64th to 22nd – and even found themselves as the first team out in the AP Poll, receiving 87 votes, 38 less than 25th-ranked Virginia.  With new personalities as the focal point of their core group, the Spartans appear to have a legitimate opportunity to rebound after their historically woeful 2020-21 campaign.