The 2026–27 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represents Michigan State University in the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans are led by 32nd-year head coach Tom Izzo and play their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season The Spartans finished the 2025–26 season 27–8, 15–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to UCLA in the quarterfinals. The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the 28th consecutive tournament, the longest current streak in the country. MSU defeated North Dakota State and Louisville to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for 23rd time in school history and the 17th time under Tom Izzo. There they lost to No. 2-seeded UConn.

The Spartans were led by Jeremy Fears Jr. with 15.2 points per game and 9.4 assists per game. Jaxon Kohler averaged 8.9 rebounds per game. Fears was named to several All-American teams.

Offseason Departures On April 10, 2026, Jeremy Fears Jr. announced he would enter the NBA draft while retaining his college eligibility, but withdrew from the draft on May 27. On May 7, guard Divine Ugochukwu announced he was transferring to LSU. DeparturesNameNo.Pos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotesCarson Cooper15C6'11"245SrJackson, MIGraduated Trey Fort9G6'4"200SrFlorence, MSGraduatedJaxon Kohler0F6'9"245SrAmerican Fork, UTGraduatedNick Sanders20G5'10"185SrFranklin, MIGraduatedDivine Ugochukwu99G6'3"190SoSugar Land, TXTransferred to LSUDenham Wojcik10G6'2"190GSCharleston, SCGraduated

Incoming transfers On April 22, 2026, it was announced the Charlotte center Anton Bonke would transfer to MSU. TransfersNameNo.Pos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious schoolAnton BonkeC7'2"260JrPort Vila, VanuatuCharlotte

Recruiting classes 2026 recruiting class On July 25, 2025, four-star point guard Carlos Medlock Jr. announced he would attend MSU in 2026. On October 1, four-star wing Julius Avent revealed he too would play for the Spartans in 2026. On November 5, four-star shooting guard Jasiah Jervis committed to MSU. On November 14, five-star center Ethan Taylor announced he too would play for Michigan State in 2026.

2027 recruiting class On September 11, 2026, top 20 prospect Antonio Pemberton, a point guard, committed to MSU.

Early offseason rankings Most early rankings for the 2026–27 season had the Spartans as a top-10 team. These included CBS Sports (No. 6), ESPN (No. 8), Fox Sports (No. 7), On3 (No. 5), Sports Illustrated (No. 10), The Athletic (No. 8), The Sporting News (No. 3), and USA Today (No. 1).

Preseason

Preseason Big Ten awards Jeremy Fears Jr. was named the Big Ten Conference's preseason player of the year and he was a unanimous selection to the preseason All-Big Ten team.

Preseason Big Ten poll The Spartans were picked to finish in second place in the preseason conference poll. They received nine first place votes.

Exhibition games In a change to prior seasons, the Spartans held an exhibition game instead of its usual "Midnight Madness" event on October 2, 2026. In the game against Incarnate Word, Jesse McCulloch led the Spartans with 20 points while Jeremy Fears Jr. notched a double double, scoring 10 points and dishing out 13 assists. Jordan Scott added 16 points in the easy 89–59 win.

Roster

Schedule and results On March 31, 2026, head coach Tom Izzo revealed that the Spartans would play Gonzaga and Baylor in non-conference games as well as a holiday tournament in the Bahamas. It was announced that the Gonzaga game would be played on December 19, 2026 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California. A few days later, Izzo and Arkansas head coach John Calipari both stated their teams would play each other on Thanksgiving at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. On April 29, it was reported that the Spartans will play Tennessee in Knoxville. The Spartans will also participate in the Champions Classic, scheduled to run at least through 2028. They will play Duke per the event's scheduling rotation. On May 12, the Big Ten Conference announced the Spartans' conference opponents. On September 17, it was announced that the team would play Incarnate Word on October 2 in an exhibition game as part of its annual Izzone campout event. The school announced the full schedule on September 23. |- !colspan=9 style=""|Exhibition

!colspan=9 style=""|Regular season

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References