Past Challenges Helping MSU Prepare for Huge Rematch at UM

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Big games are not a new concept for Michigan State.

The eighth-ranked Spartans (25-5 overall, 15-4 Big Ten) are going into what is probably their most difficult game of the season on paper: a road test against No. 3 Michigan (28-2, 18-1). MSU lost at home to the Wolverines 83-71 back on Jan. 30 when the teams first met at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo shouts instructions out during a game against Michigan at the Breslin Center on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

"What they've done is incredible," Tom Izzo said about his arch-rival on Friday. "They've won every road game. I don't know many teams in the Big Ten that have done that... That shows consistency and depth and doing it different ways against different teams."

Something Izzo consistently does is schedule a difficult non-conference schedule. That alone helps give a team the "battle-tested" label pretty early, and playing an expanded Big Ten schedule certainly doesn't hurt, either. This is a game where it can pay dividends.

Top Teams MSU Has Played

Michigan State's Coen Carr looks on during a game against Michigan at the Breslin Center on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

According to KenPom, the Spartans' strength of schedule is ranked 24th in the nation. Michigan is actually all the way up at fourth, too. Michigan State will enter Sunday's matchup (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS) with an 8-4 record during Quad 1 games (which are games generally considered difficult to win). The Wolverines have a 12-1 record, helping show why their record is so impressive.

UM's dozen Q1 victories are the third-most in the country before Friday's games, behind Duke and Arizona's 14 (both of those teams have lost two such games, though). The Spartans' eight such wins are in a six-way tie for fifth, with MSU's four losses being the fewest among the group.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo speaks during senior day celebration after the game between Michigan State and Rutgers at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Thursday, March 5, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"We almost played three of the four 1 seeds [in the NCAA Tournament] potentially," Jeremy Fears Jr. also said on Friday. "Just being able to do that is special in itself. We played almost No. 1-4 or 5 seeds. There's always going to be a game to challenge you, and it prepares you for March."

MSU Has Dealt With Daunting Slate

The list of top-tier teams that Michigan State has seen is impressive. Using the current AP Poll, the Spartans have faced: No. 1 Duke (home), No. 3 Michigan (soon to be home and away), No. 4 UConn (away exhibition game), No. 9 Nebraska (road), No. 11 Illinois (home), No. 15 Purdue (away), No. 17 North Carolina (neutral), and No. 20 Arkansas (home).

Michigan State's Cam Ward shoots a free throw during a game against Rutgers on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

One of the next steps that MSU needs to take at some point is to take down one of those elite teams. Illinois is the highest-ranked victory for the Spartans this season, and it required a Herculean effort from Fears at home to win in overtime. Playing four games against three different No. 1 seeds (with three games counting) is great, but it doesn't end up mattering if you don't get any victories in those games.

That's what makes Sunday a massive opportunity for Michigan State. The Spartans are probably going to have to go through a team of Michigan's caliber if they want to reach a Final Four. Finding a way to get a win over a Tier 1 team, particularly on the road, would do wonders for the team's confidence in the next boss battle.

Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. looks on during a game against Ohio State at the Breslin Center on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI