I have some good news and bad news, Spartan fans. The bad news is that the football program is in absolute shambles after a loss to 1-4 UCLA on Saturday afternoon. The good news? The 2025-26 Michigan State basketball season is right around the corner.
The Spartans are expected to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten again this season, beginning the year ranked No. 22 after winning the Big Ten by three games in 2024-25.
Tom Izzo has the program trending back in the right direction after a few years of falling short of expectations. Michigan State had one of the most impressive stretches of Quad 1 wins in years, and that helped it earn the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, making it to the Elite Eight before losing to a veteran-heavy Auburn team.
Still, it feels like Izzo got his mojo back.
The Hall of Famer has even said it himself that he feels more motivated than ever. And it’s showing with his roster construction as well as his elite recruiting.
Oh, and the fact that his teams continue to play elite defense.
In fact, according to the metrics, Michigan State is one of 14 programs in the “defensive juggernaut” category, according to T3Bracketology on X. This means that the Spartans are one of 14 teams to have a top-60 defensive rating while allowing under 70 points per game over the past three seasons.
14 schools, (3.8% of CBB), have achieved the following:
— T3™️ (@T3Bracketology) October 14, 2025
-Top 60 defensive rating each of the last 3 seasons
-Allowed <70ppg each of the last 3 seasons
Defense Juggernauts! pic.twitter.com/t2KKgRIla0
Michigan State is elite company with Houston, Tennessee, Duke, UCLA, Auburn, Iowa State, Maryland, and a few others also fitting into that group.
This isn’t much of a surprise to anyone who has watched Spartan basketball recently. Izzo preaches defense, and if you can’t defend, you’re not going to see the floor.
Defense wins championships, and thankfully the Spartans have an elite one.