It has been nearly 14 years since Michigan State’s last men’s basketball national title win. In that time the team has not been relevant in the NCAA national title picture and has had a slew of mediocre and underachieving seasons. That is until the last two years of solid tournament runs that ended in Sweet 16 berths and heartbreaking eliminations at the hands of the Louisville Cardinals and Duke Blue Devils, respectively. The Spartans are expected to enter the season with a core of talented and experienced players that should contend for a national title or at the very least make another deep run in the tournament next March. Let’s take a closer look at the Michigan State Spartans, go over their title odds, roster of players and figure out just how good they might be this year.

NCAA title odds

Michigan St +1000

Michigan State is currently receiving the third-best odds to win this year’s national title, according to Sportsbook.ag, and only trail the Kentucky Wildcats at 5/1 and Kansas Jayhawks at 8/1. Last season the Spartans went 27-9 overall, and they are expected to be a major player during the season. The team is bringing back last season’s leading scorer, Keith Appling, and Adreian Payne, a long-range shooter with excellent rounding skills. Michigan State is not the best or most-talented team in the nation, but they are near the top of the heap, and it would not be shocking to see the team make a deep run that ends in a National Championship. Navigating a single-elimination tournament is a difficult task, and with one bad showing by the Kentucky Wildcats, the field opens right up for the Spartans or another team to take the reigns as the favorite. Michigan State will be a very good team this year, so there is value wagering on them at +1000

The roster

The Spartans top scorer Appling averaged 13.4 points per game last season, while Payne showed signs of become a double-double machine toward the end of the year. The Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year, Garry Harris, will also be returning to the Spartans and will probably be expected to take on a major role for the team. Last year Harris averaged 12.9 PPG and shot 41.1 percent from beyond the three-point line. The team will also be playing forwards Gavin Schilling, Alvin Ellis and Kenny Kaminski, who is returning from injury as a redshirt freshmen. The one thing that Michigan State does have is depth and experience to make up for any talent deficiencies they might possess. It will be almost impossible for any team in the nation to match the Wildcats and Jayhawks in sheer talent, especially since Kentucky recruited six McDonald’s All-Americans while Kansas was able to nab top prospect Andrew Wiggins—a player many expect to be the next LeBron James.

The Michigan State Spartans are expected to be a very good team once the season begins. They may not be a juggernaut on the level of Kentucky and Kansas, but there is value wagering on them at +1000. There are a number of things that could happen such as injury, lack of chemistry or a bad game at the wrong time that could derail another team’s title hopes and lead Spartans to their first national title in 14 years. Michigan State has a lot of value for hardcore fans and bettors wishing to have a something to follow for the entire season.

Read more articles by George Monroy