2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team will represent Michigan State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans will be led by 26th-year head coach Tom Izzo and will play their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.

2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2020–21 record	0–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Tom Izzo (26th season)
Associate head coach	Dwayne Stephens (18th season)
Assistant coaches	Mike Garland (14th season) Dane Fife (10th season)
Home arena	Breslin Center

2020–21 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Illinois	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Indiana	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Iowa	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Maryland	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Michigan	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Michigan State	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Minnesota	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Nebraska	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Northwestern	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Ohio State	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Penn State	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Purdue	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Rutgers	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
Wisconsin	0	–	0		–			0	–	0		–
† 2021 Big Ten Tournament winner As of August 14, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2019–20 season 22–9, 14–6 in Big Ten play to earn a share of their third straight Big Ten regular season championship.[1] Their season ended following the cancellation of postseason tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic.[2]

Offseason

Departures

MSU lost consensus All-American point guard and all-time Big Ten leader in assists, Cassius Winston to graduation. Winston scored 1,969 points and dished out 890 assists in his four-year career at MSU.

Reserve guard Kyle Ahrens and forward Conner George also graduated from MSU.

Junior forward Xavier Tillman announced on March 24, 2020 that he would explore the NBA draft process, but would not sign with an agent, leaving the possibility he could return to play in the 2020–21 season.[3] On August 2, Tillman announced he would stay in the NBA draft, thereby ending his collegiate career.[4]

Sophomore guard Aaron Henry announced he would enter the NBA draft as well, but would also leave open the ability to return to school.[5] Also on August 2, Henry announced he was withdrawing from the NBA draft and would return to Michigan State.[6]

Walk-on red-shirt junior center Braden Burke entered his name in the transfer portal on April 10[7] and announced he was transferring to Central Michigan on April 25.[8]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Kyle Ahrens	0	G	6'6"	210	RS SR	Versailles, OH	Graduated
Braden Burke	40	C	6'11"	235	RS Jr	Stevensville, MI	Transferred to Central Michigan
Conner George	41	F	6'4"	200	SR	Okemos, MI	Graduated
Xavier Tillman	23	F	6'8"	245	JR	Grand Rapids, MI	NBA draft
Cassius Winston	5	G	6'1"	185	SR	Detroit, MI	Graduated

Recruiting classes

2020 recruiting class

On April 2, 2019, days after the Spartans advanced to the Final Four, four-start point guard Jalen Terry announced he would sign to play with the Spartans in 2020.[9] However, on October 15, Terry announced he would reopen his recruiting and decommitted from MSU.[10] On September 9, four-star center Maddy Sissoko committed to MSU.[11] On October 6, four-star point guard A.J. Hoggard announced he intended to play with MSU in 2020.[12]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
A.J. Hoggard PG	Coatesville, PA	Huntington Prep	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Oct 6, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 83
Maddy Sissoko C	Mount Pleasant, UT	Wasatch Academy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sep 9, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 87
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

2021 recruiting class

On April 22, 2020, four-star shooting guard Pierre Brooks announced he would play for Michigan State in 2021.[13] On July 7, 2020, Max Christie, the No. 1-ranked shooting guard in Michigan and ranked No. 13 overall nationally, announced he would also play for the Spartans in 2021.[14][15] On August 13, 2020, Jaden Akins, a four-start point guard and the No. 70 overall player in the 2021 class, committed to MSU.[16][17]

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jaden Akins PG	Farmington, MI	Farmington High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	August 13, 2020 (verbal)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 83
Pierre Brooks SG	Detroit, MI	Douglass Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	April 22, 2020 (verbal)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 83
Max Christie SG	Rolling Meadows, IL	Rolling Meadows High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	1,655 lb (751 kg)	July 7, 2020 (verbal)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 91
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

2022 recruiting class

On June 29, 2020, the number one-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class, small forward Emoni Bates, announced that if he plays college basketball in 2022, he would play for Michigan State.[18][19] By doing so, Bates became the highest rated recruit to commit to Michigan State in the modern recruiting era.[20] One month later, five-star center Enoch Boakye committed to MSU for 2022.[21] Boakye was the 18th ranked player in the 2022 class.[22]

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Emoni Bates SF	Ypsilanti, MI	Lincoln High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	June 29, 2020 (verbal)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 98
Enoch Boakye C	Mississauga, Ontario	George Harris Prep	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	July 28, 2020 (verbal)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Early offseason rankings

In April 2020, most early pollsters listed Michigan State as a preseason top-15 team for the 2020–21 season. These included ESPN (No. 8),[23] Sports Illustrated (No. 11),[24] Yahoo! Sports (No. 13),[25] USA Today (No. 19),[26] NBC Sports (No. 5),[27] and CBS Sports (No. 12).[28]

Incoming transfers

On May 28, 2019, Marquette forward Joey Hauser announced he would transfer to MSU. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Hauser had to sit out the 2019–20 season, but will have at least two years of eligibility left beginning in the 2020–21 season.[29]

Roster

Following Xavier Tillman's decision to enter the 2020 NBA draft, Jack Hoiberg was given the team's last remaining scholarship.[30]

2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 30 Marcus Bingham 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Catholic Central HS Grand Rapids, MI F 44 Gabe Brown 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Belleville HS Belleville, MI F 25 Malik Hall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Sunrise Christian Academy Naperville, IL F 20 Joey Hauser 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Marquette Stevens Point HS Stevens Point, WI F 11 Aaron Henry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Ben Davis HS Indianapolis, IN G AJ Hoggard 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Huntington Prep Coatesville, PA G 10 Jack Hoiberg 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Hinsdale Central Burr Ridge, IL G 13 Steven Izzo (W) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) So Lansing Catholic East Lansing, MI F 15 Thomas Kithier 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Dakota HS Macomb, MI G 1 Joshua Langford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Madison Academy Madison, AL G 3 Foster Loyer 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Clarkston HS Clarkston, MI F 34 Julius Marble 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Jesuit HS Keller, TX C Mady Sissoko 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Wasatch Academy Mount Pleasant, UT G 2 Rocket Watts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So SPIRE Institute Detroit, MI	Head coach Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan) Assistant coach(es) Dwayne Stephens (Michigan State) Dane Fife (Indiana) Mike Garland (Northern Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
TBA* TBA		TBA						Breslin Center  East Lansing, MI
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2020* TBA, ESPN		vs. Duke Champions Classic						United Center  Chicago, IL
November 27–29, 2020* TBA		vs. Auburn, Belmont, Boise State, Gonzaga, Saint Louis, Siena, or Xavier Orlando Invitational						HP Field House  Bay Lake, FL
November or December 2020* TBA		TBA ACC – Big Ten Challenge
TBA* TBA		Toledo						Breslin Center  East Lansing, MI
Big Ten regular season
TBA TBA		at Michigan Rivalry						Crisler Center  Ann Arbor, MI
TBA TBA		Michigan Rivalry						Breslin Center  East Lansing, MI
Big Ten Tournament
TBD TBD		vs. TBD						United Center  Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

1. Charboneau, Matt. "'They ain't forgetting us': Michigan State clobbers Ohio State, wins third straight Big Ten title". Detroit News. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
2. Solari, Chris. "March Madness cancellation inevitable, unavoidable: 'Bigger than basketball'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
3. "2020 NBA Draft: Michigan State's Xavier Tillman announces he will test draft waters". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
4. "Xavier Tillman to stay in NBA Draft, end Michigan State career". mlive. 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
5. Solari, Chris. "Michigan State basketball's Aaron Henry enters NBA draft with ability to return to college". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
6. "Michigan State's Henry withdrawing from draft". ESPN.com. 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
7. TillTheBitterEnd, Sam Tyler- (2020-04-10). "Men's Basketball: Braden Burke to transfer". The Only Colors. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
8. Andrew Travis. "Braden Burke chooses Central Michigan after three years at MSU". www.cm-life.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
9. Savage, Brendan (2019-04-03). "Michigan State wins recruiting battle for Flint Beecher guard Jalen Terry". mlive.com. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
10. Solari, Chris. "Michigan State basketball: 2020 PG Jalen Terry decommits from Spartans". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
11. Solari, Chris. "Michigan State basketball lands 4-star big man Mady Sissoko". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
12. "Four-star point guard AJ Hoggard picks Michigan State". Detroit News. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
13. TillTheBitterEnd, Sam Tyler- (2020-04-22). "Men's Basketball: Pierre Brooks commits to Michigan State". The Only Colors. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
14. Klein, David. "MSU Upgrades Their Long-Range Arsenal for 21′ with Commitment of Five-Star Max Christie". Spartan Hoops. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
15. Couch, Graham. "Max Christie picks Michigan State basketball and it's time to dream: 3 quick takes". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
16. "Rich get richer as Michigan State lands 'super quick' four-star point guard Jaden Akins". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
17. "Four-star PG Jaden Akins commits to Michigan State". mlive. 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
18. "Bates, 2022 top recruit, commits to Michigan St". ESPN.com. 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
19. "Emoni Bates, the best recruit in years, is the perfect player at the perfect time for Michigan State". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
20. Goldberg, Rob (June 29, 2020). "5-Star SF Emoni Bates Commits to Michigan State; Ranked No. 1 in Class of 2022". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
21. II, Omari Sankofa. "Michigan State basketball gets commitment from Enoch Boakye, a five-star center". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
22. Hawkins, James. "Michigan State basketball lands commitment from 5-star Canadian center Enoch Boakye". Detroit News. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
23. "Virginia up, Kentucky down in college basketball's Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2020-21". ESPN.com. 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
24. Woo, Jeremy. "Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2020–21 Hoops Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
25. "Yahoo Sports' absurdly early Top 25 college hoops rankings for next season". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
26. Gleeson, Scott. "College basketball's way-too-early preseason top 25 teams for the 2020-21 season". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
27. "The way-too-early college basketball preseason top 25". CollegeBasketballTalk | NBC Sports. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
28. "2020-21 college basketball rankings: Gonzaga is No. 1, Kentucky is No. 2 in never-too-early Top 25 And 1". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
29. "Michigan State basketball lands Marquette transfer forward Joey Hauser". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
30. "Michigan State Basketball G Jack Hoiberg earns 2020-21 scholarship". Spartans Wire. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-08-04.