How Izzo, MSU Remaining Dominant in Ever-Changing Landscape

We are in one of the more chaotic eras in the history of college sports.

Over the last few years, several historic “blue blood” programs have fallen below that level of play. Programs like Kentucky, North Carolina, and Kansas have recently struggled to meet that threshold in the current landscape of collegiate athletics.

Advertisement

Michigan State, however, has not. Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has consistently kept his program among the top teams in the sport as we adjust to this new era. Beyond that, he has also kept his players in town.

Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo speaks during media day on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

How Tom Izzo, Michigan State Keeping Players Around

Now, potentially more than ever, roster continuity is extremely difficult to maintain. Player movement is common, and more players are entering the transfer portal each season. However, Izzo has kept his stars around. Besides Michigan State, UConn and Duke are really the only perennial storied programs that have stayed afloat as consistent deep NCAA Tournament contenders amid the current state of college athletics.

Advertisement

College basketball analyst Andy Katz recently ranked his top 10 seniors returning to college basketball this season, and the list included two Spartans: Jeremy Fears Jr. (No. 1) and Coen Carr (No. 10).

Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. gets teammates fired up during the first basketball practice of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Not only did Izzo keep two of the best upperclassmen in college basketball around this season, but both Fears and Carr have spent their entire collegiate careers in East Lansing.

Fears will enter the 2026-27 season as arguably the best player in the entire sport. Last season, he averaged 15.2 points, 9.4 assists, and 1.3 steals a night, earning AP Second Team All-American honors and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/izzo-msu-remaining-dominant-ever-205114428.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-17 01:38:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.