Michigan State Women's Basketball releases 2026-2027 Big Ten opponent pairings
The Spartans conference home and away slate has been released by the Big Ten office with exact dates to be announced later.
Michigan State women's basketball fans finally received its home and away pairings for the 2026-2027 Big Ten conference season. The men's were announced by the league on May 12.
The Spartans will once again face an 18-game schedule for the sixth-straight season and eight of the last nine dating back to 2018-2019. The conference implemented a 20-game schedule, the same as the men play each year, for the 2020-2021 season.
The annual rivalry against Michigan results in the Spartans-Wolverines matchup being the only opponent MSU will face twice this season, playing both in Ann Arbor and East Lansing. The Spartans will look to reverse their fortunes next season after being swept by the Wolverines this past season. MSU will host Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Washington, and Wisconsin at the Breslin Center this upcoming season.
On the road, the Spartans will take on Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, UCLA, and USC.
The complete schedule with game dates and broadcast/streaming information will be announced at a later date.
Last season, MSU went 23-9, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to district site host Oklahoma. The Spartans earned a No. 5 seed, which was its highest seed since the 2015-2016 season. A late season slide in league play prevented the Spartans from hosting the initial weekend after being ranked inside the top-16 to open March. The opportunity to host would have helped increase the chances of making the program's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2009.
MSU returns a pair of All-Big Ten honorees in graduate guard Theryn Hallock and redshirt-junior guard Kennedy Blair. The Spartans will look to replace several departed players, including former forward Grace VanSlooten who was drafted No. 39 overall in the WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm this year (ninth pick of the third round). MSU was one of three Big Ten schools to have players drafted along with UCLA and OSU. VanSlooten was the first-ever Spartan taken by the Storm and seventh Big Ten player overall.
