It’s almost time for college hoops season, Nation. And with it comes perhaps the talk of the town around these parts – can Michigan State finally break through and win the national title?

The consensus from many outlets around the country is that the Spartans are one of if not the favorite to win it all this season. A big reason is the return of standout Miles Bridges for his sophomore year, to the surprise of many.

And his announcement to come back to school has been a story well-documented by many. The latest edition comes in the… well, latest edition of Sports Illustrated.

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/925347315677847552

The story is headlined by a question and answer on the cover page on how Miles Bridges is not at college just to get to the NBA, and why Michigan State’s leading scorer from a season ago returned to school.

SI also lays out their quick rundown of the upcoming college basketball season, ranking all 351 men’s Division I programs in the country. They name their preseason Final Four as well, with MSU among the quartet. They tab the Spartans as the No. 2 team in the nation, behind only Arizona. Rounding out the top four seeds, in their minds, are Duke (No. 3) and Wichita State (No. 4).

The trio of contributors to the piece detail Michigan State as having the “most formidable sophomore class in the nation” and they have “not been mentioned in connection with the FBI probe” that dominated the sport recently.

The Spartans just finished a charity exhibition against Georgia in Grand Rapids over the weekend. Their final preseason tune-up will be this Friday, November 3 at home against Hillsdale College before they open the season the following week (11/10) at home against North Florida.