Previewing Big Ten Basketball: MSU

As we arrive in East Lansing, we are nearing the completion of this early preview series on the Big Ten.  I've talked about some teams that I think will play a big role next year like Indiana, some that should drop-off like Ohio State, and teams that should have little to no impact like Nebraska.  The Spartans present an interesting scenario for next season.  They have living Big Ten legend Tom Izzo as coach and haven't missed the NCAA Tournament since 1997, but will need to make some key replacements for next season.  MSU had its low points during last year, but ultimately entered the NCAA Tournament as a #1 seed and had a pretty decent tournament run, even considering the team's high seeding.


Expectations were low to begin 2011 and there weren't many out there that thought MSU would be a big factor both in the Big Ten and the nation.  However, as the season progressed, MSU really started to excel. They began the year with an 0-2 record, but those were against ACC powerhouses North Carolina and Duke.  MSU dominated following this poor start, winning the next 15 games, including their first 4 Big Ten games.  Many thought OSU would be the Big Ten favorite throughout all of last year, but after the first few games, MSU was certainly the front-runner.  OSU, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan all had losses in the first few games.  On the other hand, MSU was undefeated and had beaten Indiana and Wisconsin.  What made this even more impressive was that Indiana had already beaten OSU and Michigan as well.