It’s become an annual early college basketball tradition to ask: Why is Michigan State − team that hasn’t won a national championship since 2000 − in the Champion’s Classic?
So far in this campaign, Tom Izzo and company have justified the Spartans being in the blue blood showcase with them looking like a team capable of cutting down the nets at the Final Four in Indianapolis. At 8-0, Michigan State is off to its best start since 2015-16 and boasts one of the best resumes of any team in the country.
The Spartans were clutch late in a win against Arkansas in the first week of the season before convincingly beat Kentucky and North Carolina on neutral courts by double-digits. Now it welcomes No. 4 Duke on Saturday with a chance to assert itself as another title contender under Izzo.
The carryover from last season’s Elite Eight team is thanks to a mix of veterans shining. Jeremy Fears Jr. is playing like one of the best guard in the country, leading the nation with 9.4 assists per game. Big man Jaxon Kohler averages 9.9 rebounds a game for a team with a +13 average rebound margin, fifth-best in the country. Both also shoot 42% from 3-point range.
What’s scary about it is Izzo doesn’t even feel like his team is great.
‘It’s been an incredible month of basketball for us, as far as not any travel, teams we’ve played and how it’s gone,’ he said after beating Iowa on Tuesday, Dec. 2. ‘We need a little practice to get better, and I got to do a better job with those guys. That’s all me.’
If this team hasn’t peaked yet, the rest of the country won’t want to see what its best is.
Michigan State taking down Duke could put the team on its way to deservingly being labeled ‘champion’ in next season’s Champions Classic. The matchup headlines the weekend of college hoops that features six ranked showdowns. Here are storylines to watch:
Kentucky faces must-win game
A must-win game in early December? That’s almost where Kentucky finds itself after an uninspiring start.
The Wildcats haven’t looked good against any quality opponent. Louisville and Michigan State blitzed them, and at home against North Carolina, looked very sloppy and let the Tar Heels steal a win. Now at 5-3, the pressure is on Mark Pope to restore some belief. It doesn’t get any easier when the Wildcats now welcome a Gonzaga team that had been dominant and wants to get the bad taste of the Michigan blowout out of its mouth. The trio of Tyon Grant-Foster, Braden Huff and Graham Ike are very experienced and can run you out of the gym. The Bulldogs average 90 points a game.
Kentucky can’t have another offensive lapse. It can hope Michigan exposed the weakness of the Bulldogs, but Mark Few knows how to fix problems with the Bulldogs. The Wildcats can’t afford another marquee loss when it still has Indiana and St. John’s left to play this month, or there will be questions if they can survive the SEC.
No. 1 Purdue gets another big showdown
The preseason No. 1 team in the country has looked just the part. Purdue looked insanely powerful recently, including victories at Alabama and a neutral-site rout of Texas Tech. Now the Boilermakers get their toughest challenge so far with undefeated Iowa State coming to town.
The No. 9 Cyclones will provide a big challenge for Purdue given how fantastic they are at shooting the ball. Their 55% field-goal percentage is best the country and the 43.3% 3-point percentage is third. The Cyclones have scored at least 78 points in every game, and it’s more impressive considering star Tamin Lipsey has been injured. Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Killyan Toure have steadied the team in his absence.
If Lipsey is able to play, it will be all hands on deck for Purdue. But the Boilermakers are battle tested, and another win over a highly-rated team will further prove Matt Painter’s team is still the team to beat.
Ranked teams coming off losses look for wins
It’s not a must-win, but it’s pretty close to one for Louisville, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee, with all teams coming off some tough defeats.
Louisville’s stellar offense was off against Arkansas and it led to its first loss of the season. Now the Cardinals head to Indianapolis to play Indiana, which suffered its first loss in a stunner to Minnesota in the Big Ten opener. Illinois losing against Connecticut in New York on Black Friday wasn’t a major stain, but it never looked close to the Huskies. The Fighting Illini will meet with a Tennessee team coming off a bad performance against Syracuse. That game will take place in Nashville, Tennessee.
Two games featuring teams coming off rough weeks, and they all need to get back on track. A loss and more questions will arise.
Arizona continues hot start
When talking about most impressive teams so far, Arizona needs to be on this list. The Wildcats are one of the most exciting squads to watch, and they get another chance for a ranked win with Auburn coming to Tucson.
Arizona handled every test thrown at them, beating Florida in the season opener, posting a win over UCLA in Los Angeles and making an emphatic statement on the road at Connecticut. Freshman forward Koa Peat has turned into a star and leads the team in scoring. That and the veteran presence of Jaden Bradley and Motiejus Krivas − with Anthony Dell’Orso and Tobe Awaka coming off the bench − is so much firepower to try and stop.
The Tigers have looked solid with Steven Pearl in charge, but it’s going to be a tall task for Auburn to go into a hostile McKale Center and get a win against a lethal Arizona team.
Other games to watch
Dayton vs. Virginia (in Charlotte): Saturday, Dec. 6, noon ET
Baylor at Memphis: Saturday, Dec. 6, 4:30 p.m. ET
Mississippi at St. John’s: Saturday, Dec. 6, 8 p.m. ET
Missouri vs. Kansas (in Kansas City): Sunday, Dec. 7, 1 p.m. ET
Texas Tech vs. LSU (in Forth Worth, Texas): Sunday, Dec. 7, 3 p.m. ET
Georgetown at North Carolina: Sunday, Dec. 7, 5 p.m. ET
Creighton at Nebraska: Sunday, Dec. 7, 5 p.m. ET