Is 2020 the year Tom Izzo finally claims his second national championship at Michigan State?
The Spartans are the favorites to win it all next season, with 6-1 odds in the latest update of the Westgate Superbook. They were listed at 8-1 two months ago, tied with Duke and trailing Virginia and Kentucky. Now they stand alone.
It's not hard to see why.
Michigan State returns three of its four leading scorers from last season's team that won 32 games and made it to the Final Four. That includes, of course, Big Ten Player of the Year and possible preseason national player of the year Cassius Winston.
The Spartans also bring in a pair of top-100 recruits in Rocket Watts and Malik Hall as well as highly-regarded transfer Joey Hauser from Marquette.
Winston, who waited on the NBA for one last shot at a national title, is already eager to get things rolling.
"I'm excited. We got a really good team, a really good opportunity. I feel like we're going to get better as a team, too, so there's no telling what's in store for us," he said last month.
On the other side of the rivalry, Michigan's title odds have significantly dropped in the past two months -- from 12-1 to 50-1. That's the result of three players leaving for the NBA, two of whom were on the surprising side in Jordan Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis, and then John Beilein moving on as well.
As for the incoming class, just one recruit remains in the wake of Beilein's departure -- four star forward Cole Bajema.
If there's an upside for Juwan Howard, it might mean less pressure in his first year as head coach.
At 50-1, the Wolverines are tied with Baylor for the 19th-best odds. They ranked fifth when the listing was first released.
