MSU's Winning Streak Shouldn't Be Discounted

The Michigan State Spartans have not faced a champion's row during their 10-game winning streak, but that does not make it any less impressive.

Jan 12, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo gestures to his team against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Michigan State Spartans have not lost a basketball game since Nov. 26, when they dropped a game to Memphis, 71-63, in the Maui Invitational.

Since then, the Spartans have won 10 consecutive games by an average margin of nearly 17 points per victory. 

However, there has been some speculation that Tom Izzo’s squad’s winning streak is not impressive. 

The Spartans have not played a ranked team during this run. North Carolina was ranked when MSU beat the Tar Heels in overtime in that Maui tournament, but they have since dropped out of the rankings. 

However, this MSU win streak is a typical occurrence under Izzo. The Hall-of-Fame coach knows how to win, and it’s not unusual for one of his teams to win many of the games in front of it. 

Big Ten Network analyst and former Purdue star Rapheal Davis said as much:

We can’t say the conference is the deepest and toughest league and there are no easy nights, then turn around and say Michigan State is undefeated because “they haven’t played anyone.”

— Rapheal Davis (@RaphealDavis3) January 16, 2025

During this win streak, the Spartans defeated Nebraska and Washington by greater than 30-point margins. Neither team has a high NET ranking (Nebraska 50, Washington 96). Still, they are Big Ten teams nonetheless, and those major victories will come in handy in MSU’s pursuit of the conference and down the line come NCAA Tournament time. 

The Spartans currently rank 17th in NET, so if the tournament started today, they would land a 5-seed. Their winning streak has not featured a champion’s row, but they are still beating every team on their schedule by a noticeable margin. 

MSU’s toughest test comes on Sunday afternoon when they host the Illinois Fighting Illini. Brad Underwood’s squad is 13-4 and ranks seventh in the NET. Kasparas Jakucionis looks like a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. 

Even if the Spartans do not win the game, this should not diminish their accomplishments over the last 10 games. 

The Spartans will go on a West Coast road trip to kick off the month of February, which should also be a difficult test. The next month will be a more difficult stretch than the previous month, but MSU is a talented, well-coached team, so Izzo’s squad should be ready. 

It is not fair to say MSU has not played anybody during this winning streak, as it can only play the team in front of it. The tough stretch of the schedule may tell us just how talented this team really is, though.

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