The 2017-18 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team will represent Michigan State University in the 2017-18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 23rd-year head coach Tom Izzo, will play their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.
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Previous season
The Spartans finished the 2016-17 season 20-15, 10-8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place. In the Big Ten Tournament, they defeated Penn State in the second round before losing to Minnesota in the quarterfinals. They received a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest region, their 20th consecutive appearance in the Tournament. They defeated No. 8-seeded Miami in the First Round before losing to No. 1-seeded Kansas in the Second Round. The 15 losses by MSU were the second most ever under Tom Izzo, behind only his 16 losses in his first season as head coach at MSU.
The Spartans were led by freshmen Miles Bridges, 16.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and Nick Ward, 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Top 2017 Basketball Recruits Video
Offseason
Departures
Recruiting classes
2017 recruiting class
On September 15, 2016, five-star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. announced that he will attend Michigan State. He is the son of former NBA player Jaren Jackson Sr. Jackson was listed as the eighth best player in the 2017 final rankings by ESPN. On September 30, 2016, four-star power forward Xavier Tillman committed to MSU. He was considered the best player in the state of Michigan in the 2017 class. Tillman was ranked No. 71 in the 2017 final rankings by ESPN. Tillman and Jackson signed National Letters of Intent on November 9, 2016. With just these two signings, MSU's class was listed as the 14th best in the country by ESPN and 17th by rivals.com.
Two-star point guard Jack Hoiberg, son of Chicago Bulls head coach, Fred Hoiberg, announced he would attend Michigan State as a preferred walk-on. On May 30, the school announced that two-star shooting guard Brock Washington would join the Spartans as a preferred walk-on in 2017.
2018 recruiting class
On April 5, 2016, four-star power forward Thomas Kithier announced he will attend Michigan State. On November 22, 2016, four-star point guard Foster Loyer committed to MSU. He is the son of NBA assistant coach John Loyer. After receiving an offer three days prior, four-star small forward Gabe Brown announced on June 20, 2017 that he will play for the Spartans in 2018. On June 30, 2017, three-star power forward Marcus Bingham Jr. announced he would play for MSU in 2018. On September 11, 2017, four-star small forward Aaron Henry committed to play basketball at MSU in 2018. According to scout.com, after the commit of Aaron Henry, the Spartans had the third best recruiting class in 2018.
Early offseason rankings
In April, 2017, most early pollsters included Michigan State in the preseason top 25 for the 2017-18 season. These included ESPN (No. 12), Sports Illustrated (No. 8), Yahoo! Sports (No. 11), USA Today (No. 16), NBC Sports (No. 3), CBS Sports (No. 3), Sporting News (No. 5) and Bleacher Report (No. 12). Most of the projections assumed Miles Bridges would not return to East Lansing for his sophomore season. USA Today noted that "leading scorer Miles Bridges is NBA-bound." The Sporting News summarized: "Bridges hasn't announced his decision yet, but Spartans fans aren't holding their breath (he's expected to be a lottery pick)."
Returning players
On April 13, 2017, Miles Bridges, considered an NBA lottery pick, announced he would not enter the NBA Draft and would return to MSU as a sophomore. His return led many to project MSU as a Final Four contender for the 2017-18 season. Losing only seniors Eron Harris and Alvin Ellis III, the Spartans will return eight of their top 10 players from the prior season. Bridges was also considered a potential candidate for National Player of the Year upon the announcement of his return to Michigan State. The Spartans will return 78% of their scoring and 81% of their rebounding from the previous year.
On May 8, redshirt graduate student Ben Carter was granted a sixth year of eligibility after the NCAA granted his medical hardship waiver. The Spartans have one remaining open scholarship for the 2017-18 season.
Transfers
On May 11, 6-foot-11, 220-pound center Braden Burke announced he would transfer to Michigan State from Robert Morris and be a preferred walk-on. Burke will have to sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Updated offseason rankings
Following the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft, many media outlets released updated early top 25 rankings for the 2017-18 season. MSU was a consensus top three team by every major outlet: NBC Sports (No. 1), Fox Sports (No. 2), Sporting News (No. 2), ESPN (No. 3), CBS Sports (No. 3), and Yahoo! Sports (No. 3).
Remaining scholarships
After missing out on late recruiting targets (Brian Bowen, Mark Smith, and Brandon McCoy), the Spartans had one remaining open scholarship. It was confirmed on August 24, 2017, that the last remaining scholarship would be given to former walk-on Connor George, son of Cathy George, MSU's volleyball coach.
Jud Heathcote passing
On August 28, former MSU head coach Jud Heathcote, who led the Spartans to their first National Championship in 1979, passed away at the age of 90. "Michigan State has lost one of its icons today," Tom Izzo said in a statement. "And yet, nothing can erase his impact on the program, the players he coached and the coaches he mentored. Spartan basketball is what it is today because of Jud Heathcote."
Preseason
Jud Heathcote memorial
On September 6, 2017, Michigan State announced that it would wear a memorial patch on their uniforms during the season for former head coach Jud Heathcote who had passed away in late August. The team also announced that the February 10, 2018 game against Purdue would be a tribute game to Heathcote.
Preseason rankings
In its preseason college preview, Lindy's Sports ranked the Spartans No. 1 in the country. The publication picked Miles Bridges as Big Ten Player of the Year and the top small forward in the country. Nick Ward was named preseason second team All-Big Ten center while Jaren Jackson Jr. was named newcomer of the year.
The Blue Ribbon Yearbook ranked MSU No. 2 in its preseason rankings. The publication listed Miles Bridges as a second team All-American.
Athlon Sports ranked the Spartans No. 2 in the country while ranking Bridges as the No. 1 player in the country. Ward and Jackson were selected as second team All-Big Ten and Jackson was named Big Ten newcomer of the year.
Street & Smith ranked MSU No. 3 in the country while naming Bridges first-team All-American.
Roster
Schedule and results
The 2018 Big Ten Tournament will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York. Due to the Big East's use of that venue for their conference tournament, the Big Ten Tournament will take place one week earlier than usual, ending the week before Selection Sunday. This could result in teams having nearly two weeks off before the NCAA Tournament. As a result, it the Big Ten regular season will begin in early December. A previously-scheduled road game against Florida was moved to the 2018-19 season due to scheduling conflicts.
Source
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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