Michigan State jumped near the top of every preseason poll when Miles Bridges announced his return to school. And the Spartan bandwagon includes ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

“It’s a huge deal,” Bilas said to The Detroit News of Bridges’ return. “To bring back not only a tremendous amount of talent but maturity and experience is a gigantic gain for Michigan State.

“Michigan State winds up getting Nick Ward and Miles Bridges back and then Ben Carter is healthy and has another year, stuff like that. That bodes well for having a great year. I think Michigan State is really well-positioned to have one of those years where they can make a run at the whole thing.”

While the frontcourt should be among the nation’s best, Bilas said the team’s ceiling could depend on the backcourt.

“If everybody is healthy and they get great guard play,” Bilas said. “Winston is coming back and he’s a special player. (Tum Tum) Nairn is coming back and he’s a great leader. They lost a few things, but to have so many quality players back and have them healthy … Langford is back, too. So you got so many guys coming back that have had experience and have been through it and I think Michigan State has got to be confident that personnel-wise they’re not gonna be short-handed against anybody in numbers and in talent.”