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Ranking Michigan State basketball’s top 3 most hated rivals

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State basketball's Malik Hall (25) boxes out Purdue forward Evan Boudreaux (12) during the first half of a NCAA men's basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.Bkc Purdue Vs Michigan State
Michigan State basketball's Malik Hall (25) boxes out Purdue forward Evan Boudreaux (12) during the first half of a NCAA men's basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.Bkc Purdue Vs Michigan State /
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Michigan State basketball fans are a fiery bunch and you can bet they have their most hated rivals. Which three programs do they hate the most?

It’s almost college basketball season, Spartan fans.

We are just about a month and a half away from the start of what could be a special season. Tom Izzo has spoken highly of the Spartans this offseason and with the three captains (Josh Langford, Aaron Henry, Foster Loyer) officially named, we can start truly getting excited for the tipoff of 2020-21.

The upcoming season may have a different feel as it’s starting later, fans won’t be able to pack arenas and teams might be limiting non-conference play and early-season tournaments.

What will be familiar will be the rivalries. Every team has those hated rivals that always seem to cause problems no matter the records and Michigan State is no exception. There’s only one truly traditional rival for the Spartans and that’s the in-state foe, but they also have developed some great matchups over the past couple of decades with other Big Ten foes.

Sure, there are some non-conference foes that always seem to stir up some hatred like Duke (everyone hates the Blue Devils), Kansas and even more recently, Virginia. Heck, even Oakland has been a decent rival over the years, but that’s more of a friendly battle.

Who would you consider to be the Spartans’ top three rivals currently?

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