Opening the season with an exhibition game against UConn should’ve been an early clue that Michigan State was going to be in the spotlight often this season.
The Spartans faced one of the best teams in the country on the road in a game that didn’t even count, and thousands of fans were paying for a UConn TV network subscription or huddling around phones to watch the game on someone’s Instagram live. It was pure pandemonium trying to watch this game.
While the game didn’t go as planned, the Spartans still showed some promise, and the fixes were pretty obvious.
Tom Izzo corrected those mistakes and moved on to the regular season where the Spartans would host John Calipari and Arkansas, holding on for a one-possession win.
Then, Michigan State dominated Kentucky in the Champions Classic before moving on to North Carolina in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Michigan State was running right through opponents en route to the Duke game, and that one slipped away late due to some poor execution late against a zone.
Four massive games against ranked opponents resulted in a 3-1 record. Not too shabby, especially with the eyes of the nation upon the Spartans.
According to Nielsen, no team in college basketball has been watched as much as MSU.
From the inbox: Per @nielsen, MSU has been the most watched men’s college basketball team this season through Dec. 22 (CBS, CW, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBC, USA, TruTV, TNT). Spartans played the other top 5 teams in that span and went 3-1. pic.twitter.com/1ysqXc83Yl
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 29, 2025
Yeah, this is not a regional brand.
Michigan State has the nation’s attention
Michigan State is the most-watched team in the country, and it probably didn’t hurt to have faced each team in the top five. The numbers look good because Michigan State has played the Nos. 2-5 teams on the list, but maybe they’re also that high because of the Spartans. It goes both ways.
No matter what the reasoning is for Michigan State at No. 1, it’s clear that people are paying attention and this is only going to help recruiting.
Sure, this also helps the current team since people are rightfully showing the Spartans some love after watching them beat Kentucky, Arkansas, and North Carolina, but recruits are going to see that no team in the country is watched more than Michigan State and they’re going to want that exposure.
While Izzo landed his entire 2026 class before Michigan State took off, they have to feel pretty good about their decision to sign with the Spartans.
Could Izzo land back-to-back top-five classes? I’m going to say yes.