Well, it’s December 24 today which means Santa’s elves are loading up the sleigh while Mr. Claus is carb-loading for his big trek around the globe tonight. For us humans, it is time to make sure the chimney is clean, the milk and cookies are fresh, and our wish lists are finalized. Us here at TOC decided this year we are going to use our wishes on the Michigan State teams we cherish so greatly. We had one rule: no getting greedy and simply wishing for championships. We had to get into specifics.
Here is what’s on our lists.
Hockey
Steve: Staying out of the penalty box. I like the physicality but MSU has to stop giving away opportunities. Play tighter and smarter and it will hopefully help open up the offense.
Lucas: Win the season series with u*m. State is currently sitting at 1-1 versus that ice hockey team down the road, with a 3-1 road win at Yost and a tough 3-0 loss at Munn. MSU and michigan will face off two more times this season, once in ann arbor before the “Duel in the D” at Little Caesars Arena. With both teams playing championship-level hockey, taking the next two games will be a big ask for the Spartans- but hey, it’s Christmas!
O: I want more offense. Currently, MSU is 16th in the nation with a 3.38 goals per game average. With the amount of NHL talent on this team, there should not be 15 teams with more potent offenses than us. I wish for MSU to get into the top ten by the end of the season.
Men’s Basketball
Mike: Teach the scout team to play the best zone defense in the world and then practice against it every single day.
Steve: I laughed out loud at Mike’s and I can’t say I disagree. It has always been an Izzo kryptonite. However, I will take a different route. My wish is for dominance against lesser opponents. The teams that State should take care of, I want to see them punish and truly take care of them. No close lucky-to-get-out-alive games. Keep those for the teams where that makes sense.
Lucas: A third 40+% three point shooter. Right now, among players averaging 15 min/game or more, Jaxon Kohler leads the way at 46.3% and Kur Teng is right on the cusp at 39.5%. (Divine is sitting at 47.8% in 13.3 min/game, mightily aided by his 5-for-5 from beyond the arc performance against Penn State).
Kohler has been a reliable weapon shooting the long ball, and Teng has had his moments and seems to be finding his shot from deep. But outside of these two guys, MSU will need more production from 3 as the calendar turns to 2026. Whether it be from Trey Fort (28.2%), Jordan Scott (25.9%), or Coen Carr (22.7%), if one of these guys can emerge as a consistent three-point shooter and up their 3pt percentage it would work wonders for Jeremy Fears Jr. and the Spartan offense.
For a group that excels on the glass and in transition, State has run into snags with its half court offense and against zone defenses. A third threat from three-point land would improve offensive spacing, discourage teams from running zones, and give MSU enough firepower to accomplish the lofty goals that come with being the reigning Big Ten Champs.
O: We had been hearing for most of the early portion of the season that Jeremy Fears was leading the nation in assists. He currently is averaging 9.2. As of a few days ago, he has slipped into 2nd place behind Purdue’s Braden Smith, who is at 9.6. My wish is for Fears to finish the season back at #1. This probably means that some of his teammates hit the open shot when he feeds them and that Carr and Cooper don’t botch any alley-oops.
Women’s Basketball
Mike: This goes all the way to next season, but I’d like to see the Spartans schedule at least a couple more “marquee” opponents prior to the Big Ten games. This year, MSU played Clemson in the Baha Mar Hoops Classic in the Bahamas and #15 Mississippi in the Cherokee Invitational, winning both games. But that’s it as far as P4 competition. Last year they played Cal, Vanderbilt, and Alabama out of conference so that was a little better.
Izzo and his scheduling team seem to have this down and this year is a great example. There was a mix of “guarantee” games and marquee matchups that allowed the team to be challenged early and often but also have time for growth, play a lot of players, and experiment with different lineups. In some years, Izzo and the team have taken their lumps but this year it’s worked out pretty well with an 11-1 start. Regardless, the Spartans are certainly battle tested every year before conference play starts.
For the women, when MSU faced their first real challenge (prior to Mississippi) at Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener, they lost. If you’re going to lose, maybe it would be better to do so in a marquee non-conference game and learn from it than dropping the first conference game and immediately being in a hole.
There are plenty of challenges in the Big Ten (UCLA, USC, Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland, Nebraska) and I’m not saying MSU needs to schedule UConn and South Carolina every year (although I think they’d like to get to that point) but try to get at least one or two programs that consistently appear in the top 25. Maybe Oklahoma, Tennessee, or North Carolina. A home and home with Notre Dame would could be exciting and draw some interest.
I think Robyn Fralick is a great coach and has MSU moving in the right direction. She certainly doesn’t need my two cents but I wish the MSU women’s basketball non-con schedule would look a little more like the men’s.
Steve: I would love to see improvements in percentage at the line and from behind the arc. Vanslooten and Blair are only about 65% from the line and considering how much they get there, they need to get better at the free points. Alexander is a dismal 46%. Improving that will go a long way. The Spartans as a team are 40% from behind the arc. That may be inflated due to Vanslooten’s 1 attempt and 1 made inflating that a bit. I’d like to see the Spartans get up to around 47%.
O: MSU currently has six different players averaging over 1o PPG. Certainly, much of that is due to the fact that MSU has not had the toughest schedule thus far. My wish is for at least five of those players to maintain their double-digit scoring average. And I also want to see 6’3” center Ines Sotelo, who just came back from an injury to start her season 3 games ago, to improve on her 5.8 average from last season. I think the interior scoring is what is going to determine how far this team can go.
Football:
Mike: I’d be happy if 2026 looked a lot like 2007. That was Mark Dantonio’s first year at MSU. The Spartans were coming off a 4-8 season in 2006, which was John L. Smith’s last in East Lansing. Dantonio’s first team went 7-6 and just 3-5 in the Big Ten before ending the season by losing the Champ’s Sports Bowl to Matt Ryan and Boston College. There was the obvious improvement of three wins and making a bowl game but, more important than that, it was how the team played. They were in every game, losing by 3 at Wisconsin, 7 to Northwestern, at Ohio State, and at Iowa, by 4 to Michigan after two fourth quarter Wolverines TD’s, and by 3 to BC. There was hope and opportunity for wins in each of those losses and MSU also beat Pitt, Notre Dame, and Penn State that year.
There were also some setbacks in 2009 and 2012 but the general direction of the program from 2007-2015 was steady progress that culminated in a playoff appearance.
In 2026, MSU toughest games, at least on paper, are at Notre Dame and against Oregon and most will have those marked down as definite losses. But they should be able to show progress in those games and have a chance in the rest.
If Fitzgerald can simulate the results of Dantonio’s first season, by truly competing in every game, then I really think we’ll finally see a true change of direction in the Spartan football program.
Steve: Oh boy, just one wish here is a tough choice. Honestly, I wish for games beyond Oct 15 having a purpose. It would be nice to see the team improving weekly and playing for something. It has felt like a long time since the second half of the season was even worth watching. Offensive and defensive line improvements are likely the keys to achieving this so portal action will be very interesting.
O: For the other three Spartan teams, I went with something pertaining to the offense. Here, I am looking at the defense. In 2025, MSU was 15th in the B1G in points allowed with 29.9. In regard to takeaways, MSU had 5 interceptions (only 2 B1G teams had fewer) along with 8 forced fumbles and 4 fumble recoveries. I want to see a defense that can create turnovers to get the defense off the field sooner. I wish for a defense that doesn’t leave the offense in a constant position of playing from behind.
Please share your wishes in the comments, MSU-related or otherwise.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. Happy Movie Theater & Chinese Restaurant Day to all who don’t.
