College basketball kicks off tonight with the James Madison Dukes heading to East Lansing to take on the fourth-ranked Michigan State Spartans. The Dukes finished last season with a 22-11 record out of the Sun Belt Conference. Michigan State went 21-13 last season. James Madison is facing an uphill battle this season as they lost most of their starters from last year's team, including their best two guards. They did hit the transfer portal but they may need some time to build chemistry. Looking at Kenpom, James Madison has the 129th-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency and the 151st-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency. Depth will not be a problem for the Spartans and they returned some key players from last season's team that were expected to leave. This could be Izzo's best team in a while. They returned four of their five starters from last season and added the #3-ranked recruiting class. Looking at Kenpom, the Spartans have the 17th-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency and the 10th-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency. This is a mature Michigan State team with a deep roster and a ton of experience. The Dukes are outmatched on both offense and defense. Usually, it takes some time for the Spartans to get going, but they did put up over 80 against Tennessee in an exhibition game. They have four starters returning, a great recruiting class, and a lot of depth so I am looking for them to come out strong.

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