Seth Greenberg explains why 'old-school' Michigan State can reach Final Four

Michigan State entered the 2024-25 college basketball unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. They’ve since become a top-10 team and are one of the favorites to win the Big Ten regular season championship next week.

The Spartans now sit at No. 8 in the current rankings as Michigan State improved its record to 23-5 overall (14-3 Big Ten). MSU’s Tre Holloman hit a 60-foot buzzer-beater to defeat Maryland on Wednesday night to keep them neck-and-neck with rival Michigan in the conference title race.

However, just winning the conference’s regular season title might not be the Spartans’ ceiling this season, according to ESPN’s Seth Greenberg.

“This Michigan State team is old-school Tom Izzo,” Greenberg said during ESPN College GameDay. “What I mean by that, is they rebound, top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency. They get out in transition, they share the basketball, and they’ve got nine different guys who can lead them in scoring. So the strength in numbers, depth, physicality and skill level of this Michigan State team could be a team that could be in the Final Four.”

Michigan State’s depth showcases two leading scorers — Jaden Akins (12.7 ppg) and Jase Richardson (11.0 ppg) — and then eight other players on the Spartans’ roster average between 5.0 to 8.8 points per game. That means any of these 10 players could be the one that takes over the game on any given night.

Thanks to their depth, as well as the other factors mentioned by Greenberg, the Spartans went on to win their first nine games against Big Ten competition. They went on a streak where they lost three of four games to begin February, but have rattled off four consecutive victories since their last loss which came to Indiana on Feb. 11.

“That is the thing about Michigan State — they find ways to win,” Andraya Carter, Greenberg’s co-host said. “You can’t count Michigan State out of games because of their offensive rebounding, and the toughness that they play with. Michigan State’s ability to find ways, they got the big win at Michigan.”

Looking ahead, the Spartans will move on to face No. 11 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, beginning their final three-game stretch of the regular season. They’ll also play Iowa before rounding out the season at home against the No. 15 Wolverines, which could very well decide who the regular season conference champion will be.

Tip-off between the Spartans and Badgers is set for Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET and will air live on CBS.