Eight Final Fours since 1999, a national title in 2000, 10 Big Ten regular-season championships and 6 B1G tournament banners; Michigan State has been nothing short of superb under coach Tom Izzo, who’s entering his 26th season as head coach in East Lansing.

Coaching has never been much of an issue for the Spartans, who’ll enter the season with a No. 13 ranking.

Izzo might beat himself up here and there, but that’s just Izzo being his own worst critic. He’s a Hall of Famer who has built one of the most consistent programs in all of college athletics.

“Final Four or bust” is the mantra in East Lansing. Izzo went to his 8th Final Four in 2019 – and who knows, he could have seen No. 9 if not for the shortened 2019-20 season. Due to the NBA Draft, a couple of big-time contributors will be absent this season: point guard Cassius Winston and power forward Xavier Tillman.

It’s difficult to predict what will happen, given it’s 2020 and all – but MSU’s consistency is hard to deny. This year should be a great building block for the Spartans’ youth movement. Considering the circumstances, this season could even end up as one of Izzo’s best coaching performances. Guiding a younger team without major star power to conference contention and a run in March could be the stuff of headlines everywhere.

Best player: Oh, Henry!

On paper, Aaron Henry had an average freshman year in 2018-19 due to being behind upperclassmen – scoring 6.8 PPG, grabbing 3.8 RPG and dishing 1.6 APG. As a sophomore, he made the jump to 10 points and nearly 5 rebounds and 3 assists. There was a time when he thought about entering the NBA Draft, but he chose to stay for his junior year in East Lansing, and that’s an incredible plus for the Spartans, who’ll need Henry’s size – 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds – on the wing to knock down shots and defend the perimeter.

During the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Izzo got into a now-infamous confrontation with Henry during a break. Everyone saw the heated exchange. On the surface, it appeared to be pretty rough for Henry. Media called it “bullying,” and other outside columnists added their opinions on how Izzo was out of line and his coaching style was outdated … but that’s how Izzo coaches, and his players appreciate the passion because it helps bring out their best.

“It wasn’t like he was going at me, but it was almost like he was helping me because I wasn’t getting it through my head,” Henry said at MSU’s media day in 2019, according to Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press. “I wasn’t playing hard. He was just trying to get me to understand it. I can’t be mad at him for it. … I don’t know if he knew I was prepared for it, but I guess he saw I was prepared for it. I’m going to accept everything he says because he doesn’t want anything for me but the best.”

The kind of players who embrace Izzo’s inner Izzo are the type who perform best in clutch time. Seeing Henry ascend to 14 PPG, 7 or 8 RPG and 4 or 5 APG seems well within the realm of possibility. Those type of numbers would qualify Henry for All-Big Ten status, possibly even Player of the Year – depending on how the season unfolds.

As far as leadership is concerned, Joshua Langford fits the bill. The 6-5, 220-pound graduate student’s career has been hindered by injury, but he has been around long enough to serve as the emotional backbone – a coach on the floor – for the Spartans this season. When healthy, Langford is capable of scoring 15 PPG and sparking the offense.

But make no mistake: The Spartans’ highlight reel will be full of Henry.

Best newcomer: Payne-like?

This one is kind of tough to call, but Mady Sissoko seems like a good pick. The 6-9, 230-pound 4-star commit has the size and length to become an asset. He’s built a bit like former Spartans star Adreian Payne, who ended being one of Izzo’s best big men.

Sissoko is long and lanky but teeming with potential. A few Izzo “war drills” should help strengthen Sissoko, who was the No. 40 overall player of his class, No. 8 at his position and No. 1 in the state of Utah.

Biggest team strength: Of course Izzo has a backcourt

It’s an Izzo-coached team, so you already know that the backcourt will be the strength. This has held true since the days of the Flintstones, when star point guard Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to the 2000 national title. Point guard Kalin Lucas led the way to a 2009 Final Four and title appearance before MSU lost 89-72 to North Carolina. In 2015, point guard Travis Trice was the catalyst for a run to another Final Four. In 2019, point guard Cassius Winston … well, you get the point.

This year, the Spartans don’t necessarily have a star running the point, but Izzo has 2 viable options who have shown signs of growth: Foster Loyer and Rocket Watts, who had to deal with a foot injury as a freshman. Loyer, a junior, and Watts, a sophomore, will likely split time at the point until one overtakes the other. In the meantime, it’ll be up to Henry and junior Gabe Brown – 6-7, 210 – to carry the weight as their point guards mature.

When healthy, Watts can easily contribute low to high teens in scoring. He’s quick and athletic and has shown signs of improving defensive skills. Loyer still has work to do on the defensive end. At 6-0 and 175 pounds, he has difficulty checking bigger guards. But he has a nice shooting touch and is a high-IQ player. During the Big Ten Tournament in 2019, he scored a career-high 14 points in just 18 minutes – so the potential is certainly there for the former Clarkston High superstar.

Biggest weakness: Lack of big-time bigs, big names

The lack of a big-name star is one thing looming over the Spartans, who’ve typically had at least 1 or 2 such players entering each season. The lack of an established frontcourt is also a concern – especially now that Tillman is gone. At 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, Tillman could bang in the paint and scrap on the boards. Great defensively and an exceptional passer out of the post, he also had a nice shooting touch.

Who’s going to take on that role in 2020-21?

It’ll be difficult to replace Tillman, but the Spartans have a couple of options who could join up and replicate some of Tillman’s production. At 6-11 and 225 pounds, junior forward Marcus Bingham seems due for a breakout season. As a sophomore, he averaged only about 11 minutes per game, contributing roughly 3.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG.

Thomas Kithier, a junior, was supposed to be a frontcourt star for MSU, but he has yet to reach his peak. At 6-8 and 230 pounds, he has the size to be a great rebounder and interior defender. He needs to work on scoring, averaging just more than 2 PPG – but he has played in 60 games, so he has the experience and knows expectations.

Regular season: Still up in the air

Thus far, only non-conference games are set in stone, so it’s difficult to deliver a B1G forecast. But if history holds true, the Spartans should be among the top 3 teams in the 14-team league. And really, because this year’s team isn’t considered one of Izzo’s best ever, it’ll probably do more with less – just look at that 2015 team that went from straddling the bubble in February all the way to the Final Four in April.

The matchup with Duke in the Champions Classic is clearly the one to watch. Izzo vs. Coach K is always a classic, despite Mike Krzyzewski owning a commanding 11-2 advantage over Izzo’s Spartans. With that said, Izzo is riding a streak … well, a streak in regards to this matchup, and the fact that he has won only twice. During the 2019 Elite Eight, the most recent meeting, the Spartans notched one of the biggest victories in program history by knocking off Duke, 68-67, before losing 61-51 to Texas Tech in the Final Four.

The Spartans will open the season at home vs. Eastern Michigan – which should be a relatively easy opener – and then face Notre Dame, also at home. The MSU-ND matchup is the first non-tournament meeting between the teams since the 1960s.

Virginia, a team much like MSU in terms of tempo and grit, is on the schedule – so that’ll be one to watch. But one that really sparks interest is the Spartans’ matchup with Oakland University, coached by Greg Kampe, who is a huge supporter of Izzo and admirer of MSU basketball. The Grizzlies play the Spartans tough every time they meet and almost pulled off a major upset at The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2015, losing to then-No. 1 MSU, 99-93, in OT behind 37 points by then-Grizzlies alpha dog Kay Felder.

March outlook: You know MSU will be in the Madness

Default setting: Sweet 16 — that’s the very low end of expectations for the Spartans, who’ve made the NCAA Tournament every season since 1998 and have won, tied or place 2nd in the B1G every season since 2008-09.

Typically, the Spartans heat up in mid-February, so to predict a humming-right-along MSU heading into March wouldn’t be out of the question. Remember, this team doesn’t have the star power – on paper – of the teams of yesteryear. But that may bode well for a team looking to make a mark after losing Winston and Tillman, a pair of 2nd-round NBA Draft picks who helped set the tone for Izzo. Whether it’s in March, April or May, the Spartans should join the Madness of the postseason – at which point, they’ll be a team that nobody wants to play … because nobody wants to draw Izzo’s Spartans during the NCAA Tournament.

And that’s a fact.