College basketball is kicking off soon, and Michigan State basketball looks to have a great season. They are coming off a tough season, going 20-15, which was not the season everyone expected. They went from being ranked number 4 in the country but quickly went downhill after losing a heartbreaker to James Madison in the first game.
Going into this season, they are ranking around the 5 spot in the Big 10. This offseason, they added 4-star shooting guard Kur Tang, 4-star combo guard Jase Richardson, son of Jason Richardson, and 3-star power forward Jesse McCulloch. They only added a few recruits this year and had 1 transfer, a 4 star small forward Frankie Fiddler from Nebraska Omaha. They recently recruited a 4-star small forward, Jordan Scott, for the class of 2025, which will be a big addition to the team. The Spartans will kick off their season against Monmouth, which hopefully doesn’t turn out like last year’s season opener.
The Spartans played well in Spain. They had 2 wins but fell to a Serbian team. Transfer Frankie Fidler led the team in scoring on the trip with 14.3 points per game. Right behind him were Coen Carr (12.7 points) and Xavier Booker (12 points).
The Spartans also recently played an exhibition against Northern Michigan, and it went great for the Spartans, taking home the victory 70-53. Freshman Jase Richardson led the bench with 11 points, and second-year PF Xavier Booker showed he could hit shots from behind the arch. This game was big for the Spartans, especially coach Tom Izzo, who was visiting his alma mater for the first time in his coaching career. Izzo’s NMU jersey was retired at the first media timeout, and it was great for Spartan and Wildcat fans to enjoy the moment. This is Tom Izzo’s 30th year with the Spartans, and he is trying to add to his NCAA tournament streak, making it 27.
In the Spartans’ 3rd game of the season, they take on the number 1 preseason-ranked team in the land, the Kansas Jayhawks. This game is going to be electric in the Breslin Center; everyone knows this is the time for the Spartans to show out and prove that they can be contenders after they didn’t crack the top 25 pre-season ranking. Michigan State only takes on 5 pre-season ranked teams this season, including Kansas (1), Rutgers (25), UCLA (22), Indiana (17), and Purdue (14). According to Vegas Sports Book, the Spartans are +600 to win the Big 10, ahead of the Spartans are UCLA at +450 and Purdue at +400. The Spartans look to have a great season and a good run in March Madness and are leaning towards that.
