One could argue that the 2018-19 Michigan State basketball team had no business winning a Big Ten title after losing a couple of lottery picks in the offseason, a leader like Tum Tum Nairn and Josh Langford in late-December followed by Nick Ward with three weeks remaining and a deadlock atop the conference standings.
Every team has attrition, so losing Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Tum Tum are not special cases and it was clear from the get-go that this Michigan State team had the perfect chemistry.
Contention was not out of the realm of possibility as long as everyone remained healthy.