97.1 The Ticket -- Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans have earned at least a share of the Big Ten regular season crown in each of the last two seasons and a poll of the conference's media members says the Spartans will extend that run this season.
The "official unofficial Big Ten media poll" was released Monday and 27 of the 28 media members that were polled pegged Michigan State to finish atop the conference. The conference does not release an official preseason poll at its annual Big Ten Media Day, which will be held Wednesday outside Chicago.
MSU not only sits atop the Big Ten preseason ranks, but is expected to be the No. 1 team in the country when the season tips off on Nov. 5 with the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The Spartans, fresh off a trip to the Final Four a season ago, will be led by senior point guard Cassius Winston, who was a near unanimous selection as the media's Big Ten preseason player of the year. Jalen Smith of Maryland (the No. 2 team in the poll) received the other nod for the honor.
While the Spartans are the clear favorites in the conference, a new era begins down the road in Ann Arbor, where rival Michigan is led by former Wolverine Juwan Howard in his first year as head coach. The Wolverines were voted No. 5 in the unofficial media poll, with senior point guard Zavier Simpson just narrowly missing first team all-Big Ten honors.
Here's a look at the full poll (first-place votes are worth 14 points; last-place votes are worth one point):
- Michigan State -- 391 points (27 first-place votes)
- Maryland -- 349 (1)
- Ohio State -- 336
- Purdue -- 311
- Michigan -- 255
- Wisconsin -- 241
- Illinois -- 239
- Iowa -- 174
- Penn State -- 164
- Indiana -- 155
- Minnesota -- 127
- Rutgers -- 95
- Nebraska -- 69
- Northwestern -- 34
The Spartans return a ton of depth and experience in Winston, Joshua Langford (returning from injury), Xavier Tillman and a host of others looking to take the next step after last year's run to the Final Four. MSU also adds a pair of talented freshmen in Rocket Watts and Malik Hall to an already loaded roster.
Michigan, meanwhile, has a few question marks beyond its solid core of Simpson, Jon Teske and Isaiah Livers. Can the likes of Brandon Johns and David DeJulius elevate their games after notching a year under their belts? What will newcomer Franz Wagner (the younger brother of former Wolverine star Mo Wagner) bring to the table? Howard will be tasked with finding the right combination of players to slot alongside his three go-to guys as the Wolverines begin life after John Beilein.
MSU begins its quest to take last year's Final Four appearance to the next step with a bout against Kentucky in the Champions Classic Nov. 5, which is likely to be a matchup of top-five teams in the annual battle of the bluebloods.
The Juwan Howard era officially starts with a visit from Appalachian State that same night.
