Last year, Michigan State basketball went into the season in a bit of an underdog situation, with many analysts projecting them to be a fringe Top-25 team despite coming off a Big Ten title the year prior. This year, don’t expect analysts to make that same mistake, especially now that Jeremy Fears Jr. is officially coming back to East Lansing.
In their way-too-early Big Ten basketball rankings for the 2026-27 season, CBS analyst Isaac Trotter has the Spartans in his top tier for the conference, which he’s calling National Title contenders, along with Illinois and Michigan. Of the three teams, MSU came in at No. 3, which is fair considering how Michigan and Illinois performed in the tournament last year.
Here’s a sample of what Trotter said about Michigan State. You can click the link above to see his full analysis of where the Spartans stand:
The scoop: Michigan State could very well have the best backcourt in the Big Ten. Jeremy Fears Jr.? Dog. Jordan Scott? Dog. Freshman Carlos Medlock Jr. will put defenders in a blender, and you can add top-35 freshman Jasiah Jervis next to 38% 3-point shooter Kur Teng, high-flyer Coen Carr, high-energy forward Cam Ward and now-healthy, 3-and-D wing Kaleb Glenn to give Tom Izzo a potpourri of off-ball options who do something a little bit different.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Where CBS Sports has MSU basketball in 2026-27 Big Ten rankings
Reporting by Andrew Brewster, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
