Mar 30, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo during the first half in the South Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament against the Auburn Tigers at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Report: MSU Hoops Falls Out of Recent Rankings

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 4:30 PM ET

The Michigan State Spartans were left off of a recent preseason national ranking after finishing the 2024-25 season as the No. 7 overall team in the country. There are always going to be doubters, but the Spartans deserve much more respect for what they did last year and this offseason in the transfer portal.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN released an "early NCAA Top 25 rankings" on Monday, reevaluating teams based on the multiple players that withdrew from the NBA Draft and will be returning to school. Borzello ranked five Big Ten teams inside the Top 25, but the Spartans were not one of them.

He has Purdue as the No. 1 overall team, which many analysts do as well, with bitter rival Michigan earning a top-10 preseason ranking at No. 8 overall. UCLA grabs the No. 15 spot while Illinois is No. 16, and the Wisconsin Badgers are No. 20. How absurd to put Illinois and Wisconsin in there before MSU.

Somehow, the NC State Wolfpack and first-year head coach Will Wade made it in at No. 24, and the North Carolina Tar Heels, who are in an absolute pretzel, are the 25th and final team in the rankings. It shows how little Borzello thinks about the Spartans for this upcoming season.

Many of these teams are either returning several key pieces or have done yeoman's work in the transfer portal this past offseason. But it is not like the Spartans sat idly by and did not do anything. They earned multiple key portal pickups that are going to put this team in the Top 25 immediately.

This will be fun for a second-straight season -- coming into the year as an unranked team and completely dominating the Big Ten and proving the talking heads around the nation completely wrong. The Spartans are going to prove all the doubters wrong, putting together a productive year.

It is funny how "experts" are continuing to doubt head coach Tom Izzo and his teams on an annual basis. This group has the potential to compete for back-to-back Big Ten titles, a Final Four and a national championship as their offense and overall depth have both improved a ton.

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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