3 Highlights on Michigan State's Next Big Ten Schedule

Michigan State's next slate of Big Ten opponents is now set.

On Tuesday, the conference announced the locations of all of its upcoming Big Ten games for the 2026-27 season. Exact dates will be announced later, but this draw is still so important, since each team plays only three teams twice. Playing 14 teams only once, either at home or on the road, can create an imbalance. Here's what to know:

Difficult Road Schedule

Michigan State's Tom Izzo shakes the hand of an Ohio State assistant before a game at the Breslin Center on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

The biggest thing that stands out is the list of teams Tom Izzo and MSU will be facing away from the Breslin Center. Michigan State faces Michigan, Maryland, and Nebraska both at home and on the road. During road games only, the Spartans get Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, UCLA, and USC.

Rankings right now must be taken with several grains of salt, but the early numbers suggest that MSU's road schedule is much more difficult than the home one (which you don't want). According to Torvik's preseason rankings, the average road Big Ten opponent is ranked at 28.0. The average opponent at home is ranked 55.0.

Challenging Two-Play Slate

Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. drives against North Dakota State during the first round of the NCAA Tournament — Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. drives to the basket against North Dakota State during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Michigan State also faced a challenging batch of teams twice. Michigan, as annoying as it may be, is the defending national champion. Nebraska just made the Sweet 16 as a 4-seed last season. Maryland was pretty awful last season, but the Terrapins have a very young roster that should help turn their fortunes around next season.

The difficult road schedule aside, these three teams account for 30% of the conference schedule while representing about 18% of the other opponents. Torvik has Michigan as the top team in the conference (MSU is second), Nebraska at fourth, and Maryland at 11th. That's two of the three best teams the Spartans could've gotten, and that wasn't made up for by a team expected to be in the league's bottom tier.

West Coast Trip

Michigan State forward Jordan Scott (6) dribbles against Louisville guard Ryan Conwell (3) during the second half of NCAA Tournament Second Round at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The other thing that will be circled when the final schedule is released is Michigan State's trip to Los Angeles again. MSU went out west last season for victories against Washington and Oregon, but the Huskies and the Ducks combined for a 12-28 conference record.

Two seasons ago, the Spartans went 0-2 on a trip to the Pacific Coast. That was despite being 17-1 in Big Ten play outside California. USC didn't make the NCAA Tournament, while UCLA was a 7-seed that season. What should potentially help this time is an earlier trip to Gonzaga in December, though Michigan State went all the way out to Maui earlier that season, too.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo shouts instructions out during a game against Michigan at the Breslin Center on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

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