The College Basketball season is officially underway, and Michigan and Michigan State are two of the best teams in the country. With quite a few games under each other’s belt, it has become clear these two teams will contend for a Big Ten Championship, and possibly even a Final Four berth come March.

Michigan & Michigan State BOTH Ranked in the Top 10 Nationally

As of right now, Michigan and Michigan State are both off to amazing starts.

For starters, Michigan State is currently ranked #9 in the nation, with wins over #14 Arkansas, #12 Kentucky, and #17 North Carolina, which are three quad One wins, meaning they have a great start to their resume come March. Quad One wins qualify as defeating a top-25 opponent at home, a top-50 team at a neutral site, and a top-75 team on the road. Adding these up helps their resume a ton. Every year it seems the Hall of Fame Head Coach Tom Izzo schedules tough games very early to test his squad, and as of right now, it is certainly paying off. However, the Spartans have had lots of players leaving, such as Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins to the NBA, Frankie Fidler and Szymon Zapala to overseas leagues, and Xavier Booker and Tre Holloman to the transfer portal. For Izzo, there were plenty of shoes to fill on this roster. Seniors Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper have really stepped up for Michigan State’s front court. Jaxon Kohler averages a double-double with 14.2 PTS & 11.3 REB, along with Cooper averaging 10.3 PTS & 7.0 REB. They both had outstanding performances in a 79-60 win against San Jose State, combining for 34 points and 25 rebounds for the Spartans. Redshirt Freshman Jesse McCulloch has also stepped in for the big men, having an impressive outing against Kentucky having eight points off the bench with 100% field goal percentage, giving Izzo some very good minutes. With the front court losing two very good guards in Richardson and Akins to the Pros, returning point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has stepped up in a big way. He also averages a double-double with averaging 10.3 PTS & 10.3 AST, he currently leads the nation with averaging 10.3 assists, which is phenomenal for the Redshirt Sophomore. Sophomore Kur Teng has also stepped up for the Spartans. He’s currently contending for the starting lineup with only 0.5 PPG the year prior, to now 7.8. He had a very impressive outing against #12 Kentucky, putting up 15 Points for MSU. It’s clear he’ll carry a much heavier role this year for the Spartans. “I would say that Michigan State has a realistic chance to contend for a Final Four if the young players continue to develop and the veterans stay consistent. With Izzo’s experience and the team’s growing depth, the Spartans will be dangerous once tournament play begins,” said Sam Sermo, a junior at BHS. Looking ahead, the Spartans travel to face fellow conference opponent Penn State on Dec. 12, before a few non-conference games prior to the conference season officially starting. The Spartans are in a prime position to contend for the Big Ten again. If they prevail, it would certainly boost their standing among the top teams in the country. As long as Izzo remains the head coach for MSU, this team is scary to face.

For the Wolverines, Michigan is currently ranked #2 in the nation. You could claim the Wolverines got off to a sluggish start with close wins over TCU and Wake Forest in Overtime, but they have been absolutely surging ever since. The Wolverines played in the Players Era Invitational, outscoring San Diego State, #21 Auburn, and #12 Gonzaga by an average of 36.6 points. Something like this is unheard of in college basketball, running right past three teams, even two being ranked, and just straight up demolishing them is something we haven’t seen in quite some time. The Wolverines jumped up to #2 in the latest AP Top-25 poll, just behind #1 Arizona. Head Coach Dusty May is in his second year with the Wolverines and brought in a LOADED transfer class with National Player Of the Year (NPOY) candidate Yaxel Lendeborg from UAB, Elliot Cadeau from North Carolina, Aday Mara from UCLA, and a few others. With the departure of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin to the NBA, the Wolverines needed replacements for the big men, and these transfers have had an immediate impact on the Wolverines. The frontcourt averages a solid 25.6 rebounds per game among the three transfers, which is huge for the Wolverines to see more success. “With Morez Johnson and Yaxel Lendeborg, the Wolverines seem much better at protecting the rim and securing rebounds.” Parker Rost, a junior, said in an interview.

In their two biggest wins so far, starting with a big win over #21 Auburn, which is also a rematch from last year’s Elite 8, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg both put up 17 points and combined for 11 rebounds, along with Morez Johnson Jr. right behind them with 15 points, leading to a 30-point win. In the championship game, the Wolverines dominated Gonzaga in a 101-61 win, Lendeborg picking up right where he left off with a double-double, 20 points and 11 rebounds. Even with the loaded transfer class and a mix of a few returners, the Wolverines are getting insanely hot, and don’t look to stop any time soon. They head home to face an opponent from the Big East, Villanova, then shortly after going on the road to face conference opponent Maryland, before a handful of non-conference games. Still undefeated at 8-0, the Wolverines are in a prime position to contend for the Big Ten Title once again. As long as the Wolverines stay hot and the frontcourt keeps doing what they’re doing, the Wolverines will be scary to face come conference season.

Overall, College Basketball always seems to be better when the two Michigan teams are good; however, this year, it feels like it matters just a little bit more. When they face off later in the season, it will have very dramatic impacts on the conference and even the field of 68 as a whole, come the NCAA Tournament. They look to both compete for the Big Ten, Michigan State as the reigning regular season champions, and Michigan as the reigning tournament champions, and there’s no sign so far that says they can’t repeat. As it stands right now, both teams are comfortably in the one to three seed range for March Madness, showing just how good these teams really are. We’ll see how these two play out and continue to get better as the season progresses.