Michigan State basketball: Is it time to adjust expectations in East Lansing?

After four straight disappointing seasons, is it time to adjust expectations surrounding Michigan State basketball?

The Michigan State basketball season came to an early end on Saturday night after a brutal 85-69 loss to North Carolina. This marks four straight seasons of disappointment as the Spartans haven’t been able to put a deep run or solid season together since COVID.

These last four seasons have caused a lot of anguish amongst the fanbase. Many are starting to question if the expectations we have for this program are too high. Is that the case? What should the expectations be going into next season?

Do expectations need to be adjusted?

Ever since Tom Izzo won the national championship in 2000, the expectations for Michigan State have been very obvious. Big Ten championships and Final Fours. And MSU has accomplished a lot in those two categories. But the Spartans have failed to win a championship or make the Final Four in four straight seasons now, and they honestly haven’t been close to either.

I think fans have the right to question what this program’s expectations should be after this rough stretch. But I don’t think it’s time to adjust those expectations. As long as Tom Izzo is the head coach in East Lansing, there’s always hope that he will get MSU back on top. Maybe if he retires and his replacement struggles then we can adjust our expectations, but I’m not ready to do that until then.

Izzo has also had stretches similar to this in the past. MSU’s gone from 2001-09 without winning the conference as well as from 2012-18. So in that regard this stretch hasn’t even been that bad yet. Izzo has gotten MSU out of bad times before, and I fully expect him to do it again.

Expectations for next year

As I mentioned, expectations at Michigan State are to win championships and make Final Fours. However, I don’t think that should be the expectation next season. It’s been four years since MSU’s accomplished either, so I don’t think we can expect it to magically happen all of a sudden. Is it possible to happen? Absolutely. Realistic? Not quite yet.

But that doesn’t mean we should expect another terrible season either. Next season I think the expectations should be to compete for a Big Ten title. The Spartans need to be in the thick of the race for the Big Ten title at the end of the season. If they lose by a game or two so be it, but they need to prove they are one of the best in the conference.

Michigan State also needs to comfortably make the NCAA Tournament, another thing they haven’t done in four years. They need to earn a top four seed and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. If they don’t make the Final Four, that’s OK, but they need to make the second weekend.

This is a very dangerous time for the program. The nation is starting to lose respect for Michigan State basketball and a lot of fans are losing hope. Next year is massive for the program’s, and Tom Izzo’s, reputation. But I have full faith they will bounce back and make a lot of noise next year.