Ranking MSU's Top Five Toughest Big Ten Opponents Next Season

Illinois has been tabbed as the No. 17 ranked team in the country for the preseason national rankings, per ESPN. Do not be surprised if the Illini are a top 10 team by the end of the season.

2. Purdue Boilermakers (Road)

Many believe the Boilermakers to be the No. 1 team in the country entering this season. Returning almost their entire starting five, Purdue is going to be a major thorn in the Spartans' size especially as a road game at Mackey Arena.

Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith, shooting guard Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn will all be starring for this team for yet another season. There is a ton of chemistry and talent on that team, hoping to exact revenge after Michigan State defeated them in East Lansing, last year.

3. Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines are another team that utilized the transfer portal in a big way and could lead to issues for head coach Tom Izzo and his club. Michigan is one of three conference teams that the Spartans will face twice during the regular season.

Adding UCLA Bruins 7-3 center Aday Mara, projected 2025 first-round pick Yaxel Lendeborg out of UAB, and North Carolina star guard Elliot Cadeau, this will be revamped Wolverine team this year that is hungry to even the score after Michigan State swept them last year, earning a Big Ten title.

4. UCLA Bruins (Home)

After finishing fourth in the Big Ten standings last year, head coach Mick Cronin and the Bruins are certainly going to be better next year. UCLA is a projected Top 25 team with multiple key transfers including former Spartan, Xavier Booker.

Michigan State will have a chance to face former New Mexico point guard Donovan Dent for the second-straight season after downing the Lobos in the round of the NCAA Tournament in Cleveland. Dent is going to lead this team to make some noise in their new conference.

UCLA beat the Spartans in Los Angeles last year and Izzo is looking to even the score at the Breslin this season.

5. Oregon Ducks (Road)

The longest road trip by distance will involve playing one of the better teams in college basketball over the past decade or so. The Ducks lost twice to Michigan State last year, once in the Big Ten tournament and the other in East Lansing where freshman guard Jase Richardson broke out for 29 points.

Oregon is returning star point guard Jackson Shelstad who gave the Spartans problems last year along with senior center Nate Bittle who withdrew from the NBA Draft to stay in Eugene for one more year. They also added senior guard TK Simpkins from Elon, a guy that averaged 16.4 points last year.

The Spartans are going to have their work cut out for them all season long and conference play is going to be very difficult once again. Izzo said last year that three or four losses is going to win the conference and that mindset still holds true for this season.

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