Men's College Basketball 2021-2022 Season Preview: Michigan State Spartans

The Big 10 will be going through some changes in men’s college basketball up top this season, as household names like Ayo Dosunmu and Luka Garza are off to the NBA. There is still plenty of star power though, as Juwan Howard has brought in an elite recruiting class at Michigan, our guy Trevion Williams is back for his swan song season at Purdue. and even the bottom half of the conference has useful fantasy options sprinkled throughout.

Big 10 slates are a grind, so getting a head start on info about this conference will serve you well in putting you above the rest of the field. Join me on this journey as we preview the Big 10 teams from a DFS perspective.

In this one, Michigan State.

(Check out our full college basketball season preview!)

Michigan State Spartans 2021-2022 Season Preview

2020-2021 record: 15-13 (9-11 Big 10), ninth in Big 10
Postseason: Lost in NCAA Tournament First Four

Key Departures | Michigan State Spartans

Aaron Henry (playing professionally)
Rocket Watts (transferred to Miss State)
Josh Langford (graduated/semi retired due to injury)
Foster Loyer (transferred to Davidson)
Thomas Kithier (transferred to Valpo)

Key Additions | Michigan State Spartans

Tyson Walker (transferred from Northeastern)
Max Christie (top 25 recruit)
Jaden Akins (top 60 recruit)
Pierre Brooks (top 60 recruit)

Returners | Michigan State Spartans

Gabe Brown (7.2 PPG/2.7 RPG)
Joey Hauser (9.7 PPG/5.6 RPG)
Marcus Bingham (3.5 PPG/3.2 RPG)
Malik Hall (5 PPG/4.2 RPG)
Julius Marble (4 PPG/2.1 RPG)
Mady Sissoko (1.1 PPG/1.8 RPG)
AJ Hoggard (2.5 PPG/1.9 RPG/2 APG)

Michigan State Spartans Outlook for 2021-2022

The Spartans were one of the more volatile teams when it came to DFS last year, mostly due to Tom Izzo’s deep rotation and inconsistent play of the starters. The one player we could really count on was Aaron Henry, and he’s long gone now. There are 2-3 players on this team that I think will ultimately end up being steady producers, but the rest of this lineup looks like tilt city to me.

When the transfer portal bonanza kicked off, there was one name that I had ranked near the top and that was Northeastern guard Tyson Walker. I thought this was a very savvy addition by Izzo, one that is going to help the team get back to the tournament. He averaged nearly 19 PPG and dropped almost 5 APG as well. He likely won’t have to shoulder that kind of scoring load for the Spartans, but when the team goes through inevitable droughts, I think he is one of the players to get them out of it. Obviously, there is concern about him handling the jump from CAA to the Big 10, but he did have 27 points against UNC last year so there is plenty to be excited about regarding his ability.

McDonalds All-American Max Christie is going to be a big-time scorer for this team right away and is someone I believe can carry them for long stretches of time if need be. There is concern about him being a liability on defense, but Walker should help mask that on the perimeter as the reigning CAA DPOY. Former 4-star AJ Hoggard and top-60 recruit Jaden Atkins will function as backup guards but I wouldn’t count on them for anything remotely close to consistent fantasy production right now. Which version of Joey Hauser will show up this year? Last year, anytime Joey Hauser was chalk it was nearly a universal fade in high dollar GPPs because of his high bust rate. He made many DFS players tilt their faces off last season and I’m not sure it gets much better this year. Hauser is a really good passer as a post player and can even knock down the three when left open. He is another defensive liability, which could affect his minutes severely but if he is able to score at a higher clip this season it would warrant additional minutes.

The frontcourt is a mess as Malik Hall, Marcus Bingham, Julius Marble and Mady Sissoko will play musical minutes as they did last year. Izzo seems to ride a hot hand with his bigs, which makes it nearly impossible to use any of them in your lineups. I do like Gabe Brown to take a bigger piece of the pie this year. Brown should see his minutes go up as he can play multiple positions and is one of the best spot-up shooters on the team. He isn’t really able to create his own shot, but Tyson Walker should be able to put him in position to take open shots.

(Check out our rankings of the top 100 teams, top 100 players and top 25 impact freshmen for men’s college basketball in 2021-2022.)

Summary

Max Christie, Tyson Walker and Gabe Brown hold the most fantasy value for this team to start the year. I foresee a revolving door in the front court which will be an avoid in everything except deep GPP builds. Ultimately, I would say this is one of those better “real life” teams than it is a fantasy team.