It’s been an eventful season for Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball. It essentially got kickstarted by a matchup with Arkansas at the Breslin Center that captured the attention of college hoops fans everywhere, and it continued against Kentucky, North Carolina, and Duke.
There have been some elite matchups on the Spartans’ plate this season and there have been a lot of eyeballs on Michigan State.
A few weeks ago, there was a report that came out, identifying Michigan State as the most-watched team in college basketball this season. Of course matchups against teams like Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina have helped, but people have been tuning in to watch Izzo’s team.
A new report has surfaced on Thursday, ranking the top 10 most-watched college basketball games this season. Michigan State appears twice on this list, per On3.
NEW: Top 10 most-watched College Basketball games through February 25📺https://t.co/vGL0RZe8An pic.twitter.com/x4qFFcHwFb
— On3 (@On3) February 26, 2026
The Michigan State vs. North Carolina game was the second most-watched game this season which makes sense because it was one of the only ones on Thanksgiving and it featured two college basketball blue bloods. That game drew an astounding 6.5 million viewers.
Down at No. 6 on the list was Michigan vs. Michigan State which drew 2.8 million viewers. There’s have been literally millions of eyeballs on the Spartans this season.
National brand.
Michigan State could add at least one more to the list
Already appearing in 20 percent of the top 10 most-watched games this season, Michigan State has a chance to add to play in two more. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Michigan State’s rematch with Michigan to end the regular season appear in the top 10.
I wouldn’t say that the Purdue game also has a chance to join the top 10 most-watched games, but getting a Peacock broadcast on there is darn near impossible.
Michigan State will have a Sunday afternoon matchup against Indiana that could also bring in a surprising number of viewers on CBS. The Spartans are must-see TV.
Obviously the NCAA Tournament will smash all of these numbers, but having two of the regular-season’s 10 most-watched games just proves that Michigan State isn’t a regional brand.