Michigan State Men's Basketball: Spartans rank No. 6 in 2026-27 preseason polls
MSU enters the 2026-2027 campaign as one of the top teams in the country in the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches Poll. More here.
The Michigan State men's basketball program has high expectations for the 2026-2027 season — both within the program and externally. The Spartans enter the new campaign as the No. 6 team in both the Associated Press Top-25 College Basketball Poll and the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
The polls were released on Monday. MSU is behind a top-five of No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Connecticut and No. 5 Arizona in the the AP Poll. The same teams are ahead of the Spartans in the Coaches Poll, except Arizona is listed as No. 4 and UConn comes in at No. 5 there.
Michigan State is coming off of a Sweet 16 appearance during the 2025-2026 season, in which it lost 67-63 to UConn in the East Regional Semifinal. The Spartans finished with a 27-8 overall record and went 15-5 in conference play.
This season, MSU returns key contributors in point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., forward Coen Carr, forward Jordan Scott, forward Cam Ward, guard Kur Teng and forward/center Jesse McCulloch. The Spartans will also get forward Kaleb Glenn back into the lineup. Glenn missed the entire 2025-2026 campaign due to a knee injury.
Michigan State added Charlotte transfer center Anton Bonke during the offseason and brought in a talented freshman class. True freshmen Jasiah Jervis (guard), Carlos Medlock Jr. (guard), Julius Avent (forward) and Ethan Taylor (center) will all look to earn roles, and some of them may have the opportunity to make an immediate impact.
MSU has already played one exhibition game, defeating Incarnate Word 89-59 on Oct. 2. The Spartans have two exhibition games remaining against No. 4 Connecticut on Nov. 20 and Marquette on Oct. 25. Michigan State opens the regular season against Quinnipiac in the Breslin Center on Nov. 2.
In addition to competing in a difficult Big Ten conference, head coach Tom Izzo and the Spartans will play a challenging non-conference schedule, with matchups against No. 2 Duke, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 15 Gonzaga (all Associated Press Poll rankings) and others.
Full 2026-2027 Preseason AP Poll:
1. Florida
2. Duke
3. Illinois
4. Connecticut
5. Arizona
6. Michigan State
7. Texas
8. Tennessee
9. Virginia
10. Houston
11. Louisville
12. Arkansas
13. St. John's
14. Miami (FL.)
15. Gonzaga
16. Michigan
17. Kansas
18. Iowa State
19. Texas Tech
20. Alabama
21. USC
22. UCLA
23. Kentucky
24. Vanderbilt
25. BYU
Full 2026-2027 Preseason Coaches Poll:
1. Florida, 2. Duke, 3. Illinois, 4. Arizona, 5. Connecticut, 6. Michigan State, 7. Texas, 8. Houston, 9. Tennessee, 10. Virginia, 11. Louisville, 12. Gonzaga, 13. Arkansas, 14. St. John's, 14. Iowa State, 16. Texas Tech, 17. Miami (FL.), 18. Kansas, 18. Alabama, 20. Michigan, 21. Vanderbilt, 22. USC, 23. Kentucky, 24. Purdue, 25. BYU (note some teams are tied and listed with same ranking)
