Locked On Spartans - Daily Podcast On Michigan State Spartans Football & Basketball · Locked On Podcast Network, Matt Sheehan

BIG 10 SQUAD: Spring Ball is HERE | How Michigan State looks headed into 2026

·28 min·2 clips

Jacob Goins backs California Baptist over Kansas and says Bill Self should have retired years ago.

1. Locked On Spartans - Daily Podcast On Michigan State Spartans Football & Basketball appears here as part of a Locked On Big Ten Squad roundtable about spring football and the 2026 NCAA tournament. 2. Spencer McLaughlin hosts the Big Ten Squad, and guests include Mark Colkin of Locked On USC, Jacob Goins of Locked On Hoosiers, Nick Arvin of Locked On Boilermakers, Zach Saka of Locked On Nittany Lions, Roman Tomashoff of Locked On Huskies, and Ryan Herrings of Locked On Badgers. 3. The episode asks whether the Big Ten can finally break its 26-year men’s basketball title drought while also checking in on spring football around USC. 4. Mark Colkin says USC's biggest spring football storyline is Lincoln Riley bringing in “an adult in the room” to coach defense and Mike Eckler to handle linebackers and special teams. 5. He says Terry Patterson, described as a Hall of Fame coach in the discussion, should complement Riley’s offense and help cover USC’s biggest needs. 6. The group notes that USC is in spring break during camp and says the Trojans will return for the final eight sessions next week. 7. The conversation turns to Purdue, where Nick Arvin says he feels much better about the basketball team than the football team after a Big Ten tournament run. 8. He says Purdue’s football win total is 3.5, but the basketball team has already won four games in the Big Ten tournament and now has a two-seed. 9. Craig Sheeman and the group frame Purdue’s NCAA path as favorable, with a West Region draw that includes Queens in the first round. 10. The hosts also revisit Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan State as conference teams that could shape how far the Big Ten advances. 11. Craig Sheeman says Michigan was his favorite to win it all a few weeks earlier before a backup-guard injury changed the rotation. 12. He says Illinois has lost five of its last ten, which makes him less certain about its title chances despite liking the team earlier in the season. 13. Ryan Herrings says Wisconsin’s backcourt of Boyd and Blackwell has been one of the better duos in Big Ten basketball. 14. He adds that Nick Boyd gives Wisconsin “swagger” and argues Boyd is not going to lose in the first round of his last college season. 15. Jacob Goins picks California Baptist over Kansas, says he does not trust Kansas, and says Bill Self should have hung it up a couple years ago. 16. Goins also picks Troy over Nebraska and points out that Nebraska is the only power conference program that has never won an NCAA tournament game. 17. The tone stays conversational and combative, with hosts interrupting each other, correcting bracket details, and trading jokes about Illinois, Oregon, and Nebraska volleyball. 18. The format mixes short team-by-team snapshots with rapid-fire upset picks and repeated references to seed lines, tournament paths, and conference pride. 19. Listeners who follow Big Ten basketball brackets and team-specific fans. 20. Skip if you want a focused single-team breakdown. 21. The show is built for people who enjoy cross-team banter more than polished analysis. 22. It moves quickly between USC spring practice, Purdue’s path, and multiple upset picks without settling on one theme.

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