The poll results are in: Here’s a closer look at No. 7 Michigan State.
7. MICHIGAN STATE
2025-26 record: 27-8
Outlook for 2026-27: The last time Detroit hosted the Final Four, Tom Izzo’s Spartans reached the championship game before falling to North Carolina. Michigan State hasn’t been back to the title game since. With three starters returning from their Sweet 16 team, why can’t the Spartans make it back to Detroit?
What we like: By all the metrics, point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was the nation’s best player last season who didn’t move on to the NBA. As a result, the nation’s assist leader was a popular pick for preseason Player of the Year honors. Fears added explosiveness in the offseason — witness his flying dunk against UConn in exhibition play — and has several running mates on the wing in Coen Carr, Jordan Scott and Jasiah Jervis.
Trouble ahead: The Spartans lost ultra-reliable frontcourt starters Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper to graduation and haven’t found natural replacements. Seven-foot-2 Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke, the tallest player in Michigan State history, has struggled to adjust and has seen his minutes decrease with each successive exhibition.
Top newcomer: Jervis, a McDonald’s All-American wing, is a natural scorer who averaged 13.3 points and shot 8-for-15 from 3-point range during the Spartans’ exhibition games.