It's one of the best storylines in college sports: will Tom Izzo win his second national championship before he finally decides to hang it up? According to the writers over at The Athletic, this could be the year he finally pulls it off again. In their big preseason college basketball predictions article that their NCAA hoops writers collaborated on, multiple writers predicted that Michigan State basketball would win the national title this season.

In the article, eight writers projected the Spartans to make the Final Four, while two writers said the Spartans would win the national championship outright. Only UConn received a better projection by the staff over at The Athletic.

This should be some welcome news for MSU fans, who may be feeling a bit disillusioned following two straight exhibition losses for the Spartans in the preseason.

Michigan State's season kicks off Monday with a game against Quinnipiac.