Michigan State basketball is among the elite teams in 2 major categories

When it comes to contending for titles, teams need to be efficient on both ends of the floor. If you’re great on offense and horrendous defensively (Iowa), you’re not going to win much of anything. On the flip side, if you’re great defensively and horrible on the offensive end (Virginia post-national title), you’re going to fade into irrelevancy. It’s the teams that do both well that win it all. And luckily, Michigan State basketball is one of those teams.

In fact, there are just 12 teams in college basketball that rank in the top 30 of KenPom’s adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency this season and Michigan State happens to be one of them. Well, the Spartans along with 11 other contenders.

12 schools enter the day KenPom Top 30 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency ⬇️

-Balanced attacks that can beat you on either end of the floor
-Surprised to see more Big Ten schools than SEC
-Highly likely our 2025 national champion comes from this group of 12… pic.twitter.com/Fp7sP2CnxF

— JBR Bracketology (@JBRBracketology) January 15, 2025

Auburn, Houston, Duke, Florida, Illinois, Iowa State, Tennessee, Marquette, and Michigan are all national title contenders along with Michigan State. Heck, you could even make a case for Arizona, too, while Maryland is no slouch in the Big Ten. All of these teams have been giving teams fits all season on both ends of the floor and it’s no secret: they’re all great on offense and defense.

When you look at title contenders each season, I’d be willing to bet most of them fit this top-30 category on both ends of the floor. It’s no secret why Michigan State has been so much more enjoyable this year. This team has put in the work to defend at a high level and score points.

In fact, this is one of the best offensive teams that Tom Izzo has had and yet it is one of his worst 3-point shooting squads. It’s the half-court offense led by Tre Holloman, Jase Richardson, and Jeremy Fears Jr. that help find the open guys and respond to every bucket given up on the other end. And speaking of the other end, the Spartans don’t often give up a ton of points. Before Wednesday’s lackluster showing, they were holding teams to well under 70 points per game, on average. This defense is stingy 99 percent of the time.

Will Michigan State basketball keep this up? If it does, it might be hanging some banners for the first time in five years.