Friday’s Michigan vs Michigan State game didn’t exactly go as we all planned, but at least millions of people got to witness the Spartans struggle at home.
Jokes aside, Michigan and Michigan State drew one of the biggest college basketball viewership numbers that FOX had ever recorded, according to their own Twitter account.
The Michigan–Michigan State rivalry game on FOX Friday Night College Hoops drew 2.76M viewers, the fifth most-watched men’s college basketball broadcast in network history. pic.twitter.com/mShYnhXG7i
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 3, 2026
According to FOX, it was the network’s fifth most-watched game in its history as well as the most-watched Friday game ever on the network. The peak viewership numbers were 3.33 million which is kind of insane for a regular-season college basketball game, but most Big Ten fans had their sights set on East Lansing.
Entering the game, there was a ton of talk about Tom Izzo’s 71st birthday falling on the same day as the rivalry game that he’s become so entrenched in. How would his team respond to the pressure of facing a top-five Michigan team at home, a “must-win” if you want to pace the Big Ten title race?
Not well, apparently.
The Spartans fell behind by 16 points at hafltime, which kind of shocked everyone, but they scratched and clawed their way back into the game, taking a 2-point lead with about seven minutes left before getting out-roughed in the final seven to lose by 12.
It was one of those games that really didn’t make sense from start to finish, but the second half played much more like a tournament game than the first.
Michigan State still controls its own Big Ten title destiny
Believe it or not, Michigan State still controls its own destiny in the Big Ten title race. After Illinois went to Nebraska over the weekend and picked up a huge win, the Spartans are now in position to hold their own fate in their hands.
Michigan and Illinois both sit at 10-1 in the conference, and Michigan State is 9-2 and will face both of those teams one more time. Win both of those games (Illinois is this Saturday in East Lansing), and the Spartans are in prime position to repeat as Big Ten champs.
The Spartans will face a couple of sneaky-tough home and road games over the next couple of weeks at Minnesota and at Wisconsin and then back home against UCLA and Ohio State. If they can go 4-0 in those games, there’s a good chance that the Big Ten title comes down to another rivalry showdown between the Spartans and Wolverines in Ann Arbor to end the year.