This year in the 2020/2021 college basketball season, the Big Ten conference has some of college basketball’s top-ranked teams. Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Illinois, and Rutgers each have earned a top 25 spot in college basketball right now. Although the annual conference tournament is months away, people are already looking to make inquiries about who the top team is going to be.

The Wisconsin Badgers will be that top team. With several seniors returning and only one departure, the Badgers will have an experienced team off the back of a successful season last year. Although the season was not finished last year, some of the most notable moments for the Badgers were a win against fifth-ranked Ohio State and a win over number 14 Michigan State, both of which important conference games. Also, Wisconsin ended the season on an eight-game hot streak before COVID canceled the remainder of their games, giving the Badgers a share of the Big Ten regular-season title. 

Although talented, Michigan State does not appear to be a top tier team in the conference. Losing two of their star seniors in Xavier Tillman and Cassius Winston leaves two big holes for the Spartans to fill. The Spartans now have to look to one of their underclassmen to be the main scorer, Rocket Watts, a four-star out of high school who averaged an astonishing 26.8 points and 6 assists per game. However, he had an underwhelming freshman year, only averaging 9 ppg and 1.7 assists per game. The team looks to junior Foster Loyer to lead them at the point guard position, despite him only averaging 2.9 points per game in his college career. Quite frankly, I don’t think they have the guys to replace the production Tillman and Winston had in the program.

Although Michigan State has had good seasons in past years and I anticipate them finding some success, losing their top players and relying on inconsistent players like Watts and Loyer could cause trouble for the younger Spartans. The first matchup between these two teams is set for December 25 at 12:30 PM, so we will soon see who is the better team.

Check out Sydney’s story on why MSU will win the Big Ten:

Why MSU basketball will be one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season