4 reasons Michigan State basketball can return to 2027 Final Four in Detroit

There is a feeling of urgency and ubiquitousness whenever the Final Four lands close to home.

Tom Izzo knows. Michigan State basketball’s expectations going into the 2008-09 season were sky-high, ranked sixth in the preseason polls. Detroit, meanwhile, was prepared to host college hoops’ biggest weekend for the first time.

The Spartans delivered everything but Izzo’s second national title, winning a Big Ten title and making it to Ford Field before falling in the championship game to a stacked North Carolina squad.

Now 18 years later, history appears to be repeating heading into this season.

The sixth-ranked Spartans begin their quest to get back to the Final Four with a visit to Breslin Center from Quinnipiac on Monday, Nov. 2 (7 p.m., B1G+). Like there was in 2008, there is an early season trip to Detroit for a marquee game among the annual non-conference challenge. That’s followed by a grueling Big Ten schedule and a conference tournament again in Indianapolis, just like it was in 2009.

Here are four things MSU must do between now and April to secure its spot in Ford Field.

Fears factor

Kalin Lucas blossomed into an All-American in 2009. Jeremy Fears Jr., already has that on his résumé after last season. But the two are in rare company within Izzo’s proud point guard tradition, though they share the ability to lift those around them.

The Spartans need Fears to show he has improved his shot, his explosiveness and his quickness on defense. That might mean playing fewer minutes than his team-high 32.4 a game last season, with freshman Carlos “CJ” Medlock giving him a backup that he lacked down the stretch a year ago. That might mean scoring less than last season's team-leading 15.2 a game, but it also could mean increasing his nation-best 9.4 assists per game.

But like some of Izzo’s best, including Lucas and Mateen Cleaves, Fears needs to be the alpha on all accounts and take over games late. He showed the ability to do that the past two seasons, and elevating that skill to an elite level would do the same for his team.

That 2008-09 team had senior-year Goran Suton take a huge leap forward. It also blended different types of frontcourt players, including Idong Ibok and Marquise Gray, with roles and rotations shifting all season.

MSU's center spot this season is somewhat similar, if not deeper. Third-year sophomore Jesse McCulloch possesses defense-stretching shooting ability and the two-way skills to hedge on high ball screens. Transfer Anton Bonke (Charlotte) and freshman Ethan Taylor give Izzo two 7-foot-2 bodies who can be low-block anchors. And sophomore Cam Ward can be an undersized force with his ability to rebound and score, if he embraces his potential as a cleanup man.

Izzo’s main challenge is to figure out how to best use that group situationally. But their size and versatile skills should allow him to know by the start of Big Ten play in December who works well together defensively and who gives the Spartans their highest offensive upside.

Boys to men

One of the big reasons the 2008-09 team took flight was the growth of its sophomore class of Lucas, Durrell Summers and Chris Allen and the infusion of freshmen Draymond Green and Korie Lucious. They would become the backbone of back-to-back Final Four teams.

Sophomore Jordan Scott is emerging for this year’s team as a potent force alongside Fears in the backcourt, with a long wingspan that is pesky on the perimeter and down low. Ward showed flashes last season, before a limiting wrist injury, of being a offensive board cleaner who can run the court in transition.

Jasiah Jervis has a chance as a freshman to become Izzo’s next high-scoring guard, with a sweet outside shot and smooth athleticism. Medlock can grow into a seamless backup to minimize dropoff from Fears and work next to him when additional ball-handling is needed. Taylor could emerge as far more than a five-star project with his developing skills and size.

And much like Raymar Morgan did in 2009 and 2010, this group needs Coen Carr’s senior season to be more than a dunkfest. Carr has continued to become a confident and calming counterbalance as a leader to the fervent Fears, and their connection fuels MSU’s ability to defend and run in transition at a breakneck pace that Izzo demands.

Follow the leader

When it comes down to it, only Izzo knows exactly what it takes to get to a Final Four. And how to block out the noise that comes with it being less than 90 miles away from the Breslin Center.

He’s closing in on 800 career wins, entering the season at 764 (fifth among active coaches and 20th in Division I history). He is chasing a record 12th Big Ten regular-season championship to break a tie with Indiana’s Bob Knight and Purdue’s Ward “Piggy” Lambert. And his eight Final Four appearances and streak of 28 straight NCAA tournament appearances are the best among his active peers.

And nothing drives Izzo quite like the potential to get to the Motor City to make another memory for his players, fans and home state. His intensity will be off the charts, especially because he sees a roster that has a chance to contend for a national title.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

Next up: Bobcats

Matchup: No. 6 Michigan State (27-8 in 2025-26) vs. Quinnipiac (19-13 in 2025-26); season opener.

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2; Breslin Center, East Lansing.

TV/radio: BIG+ (online only); WJR-AM (760).