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Michigan State

Jay Bilas: Michigan State can get to a Final Four

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax02/01/25BarkleyTruax
izzo ferris
Michigan State's head coach Tom Izzo, right, talks with Jeremy Fears Jr. during the first half against Ferris State on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in East Lansing. Photo by Nick King | USA Today Network

Michigan State was unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. They’ve gone on to win 18 of their first 20 games this season and are currently ranked inside the top 10.

Off to a 9-0 start to conference play, ESPN’s Jay Bilas made a bold statement about the Spartans ahead of Saturday’s road matchup at USC. He believes Tom Izzo’s group is Final Four good.

“I think it’s remarkable that they’re 18-2 because after seeing them in the Champions Classic and in Maui, that wasn’t a prediction,” Bilas told the panel on ESPN College GameDay. “They’ve done a remarkable job.”

Then No. 1 Kansas beat Michigan State 77-69 in the Champions Classic, and then fell to Memphis in the Maui Invitational. Both losses came during Novemeber, and Michigan State has since won its last 13 games. They’re a perfrect 15-0 in games played at home or on the road as those two losses came on a neutral court.

The Spartans have been led by a well-rounded effort offensively. Seven different players are averaging seven points or more, and its not uncommon for Izzo to play 10 or more guys on a nightly basis. However, most of Michigan State’s success has come from the charity stripe.

“I think they’re really different this year because they’re getting to the free throw line,” Bilas continued. “They’re one of the worst 3-point shooting teams by percentage in the country. I think they’re No. 348, they’re shooting 29% — they’re way better shooters than that. They’ve adjusted, so they’re not relying on jump shots as they have in the past.

“They are making more free throws than their opponents attempt, and they’re top 40 in the country in free throw rate. And the last seven, eight years, that’s not been the case.”

They shot four times as many free throws than Minnesota took during their 73-51 win over Minnesota earlier in the week, and it’s a trend that has followed them throughout the year.

Could free throws be what’s seperating Michigan State this season? Regardless, it does appear that the Spartans are well on their way to producing the best season under Izzo this decade.

The last time Michigan State made it out of the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was during the 2018-19 season, and they haven’t been seeded higher than seven over that span. If their upward trajectory continues, the Spartans could be a team to beat in the NCAA Tournament.