Chicago – Michigan State hasn't won the Big Ten regular-season championship since 2012, and getting back to the top will be no piece of cake in 2015-16.
The Spartans are fresh off another Final Four appearance and played in the conference tournament championship game three of the last four seasons, winning twice.
But the road will be tough this season, coach Tom Izzo said.
Maryland is the favorite to win the title, and the battle throughout the rest of the Big Ten will be intense.
"I think top-to-bottom, the last four or five years, it's been the best league in the country," Izzo said at the Big Ten's media day on Thursday.