Michigan State and The Rest Of The Big Ten: What I See Happening

Michigan State's basketball team will be good this year and they should be good for the foreseeable future. With returning stars in Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers and vocal leader Draymond Green, this years team should be the class of the Big Ten, but that doesn't mean that they will be. Purdue has a good team as well as Ohio State, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Any one of those five teams could win the Big Ten, but as a State fan, I don't want that to happen.

As usual, Michigan State's schedule is loaded. With the likes of Syracuse, Duke, Texas, South Carolina, and possibly Kentucky and UCONN, they will face several different challenges throughout the non-conference. The good news is, Ohio State is on the schedule only 1 time this year, but it is at Ohio State.

The conference is going to be very top heavy. Iowa isn't going to win very many games, Michigan is going to be hurting after losing Manny Harris and Deshawn Sims, Penn State won't be a big threat, Indiana is a couple years away yet, Northwestern could give some teams problems but they lost their best player in Kevin Coble, Minnesota has been doing alright under Tubby Smith. Then you get to the upper tier of the conference.

Projected finish

11. Iowa

10. Michigan

9. Penn State

8. Indiana

7. Northwestern

6. Minnesota

5. Illinois

4. Wisconsin

3. Ohio State

2. Purdue 

1. Michigan State

The Big Ten could have up to 7 teams make the tournament, but i think only 5 will make, Minnesota will just miss the cut.

The Big Ten Conference is going to be very strong, the best it has been in years. I think it will be the best conference in basketball, but as we know, the Big Ten doesn't get any love.

Michigan State will be vying for a #1 seed as well as Purdue. Michigan State will have a better shot at getting the #1 seed than Purdue for two reasons:

1. States schedule is very strong

2. Its Michigan State, who has been to back-to-back Final Fours and 6 out of the last 12 years.