Michigan State's Schedule Released: Is the Final Four on the Schedule?

September 25, 2026: Michigan State’s 2026-27 schedule leaves plenty of room for a high ceiling—but there won’t be many easy nights along the way. The Spartans face four heavyweights in the nonconference portion, giving them an early opportunity to prove they can compete with the best in the country. And while the rest of the nonconference slate may not carry the same national profile, there aren’t many true cupcakes either, meaning MSU should be tested throughout the opening months of the season. Then comes a Big Ten schedule filled with potential landmines and trap games. The conference is loaded with teams capable of making life difficult on any given night, and MSU will have to navigate a challenging combination of road games, physical opponents and matchups that could easily be overlooked. We break down the entire schedule, identify the biggest tests, examine where the Spartans could stumble, and discuss what this schedule could tell us about just how high Michigan State can climb this season. OUR AWESOME SPONSORS Every great podcast needs great sponsors. And we’re fortunate to have three that not only support the show, but also make it more fun for you guys. First up: Nudge Printing. If you’re looking for Michigan State gear, there are approximately 47,000 places on the internet willing to sell you a green T-shirt. But we recommend going with the Spartans who actually know what they’re doing. Nudge Printing is owned and operated by MSU alums Gabe and Brittany, right here in Michigan. They make some seriously good Spartan apparel, along with gear for a bunch of other schools. And, perhaps most importantly to you, Nudge supplies the apparel and gift cards for our listener contests. So when you win something on the show, there’s a pretty good chance Nudge is the reason you have something to put on your body or spend at the mall. Check them out, support a couple of fellow Spartans, and get yourself some new gear. Then there are The Brothers that just do Gutters. You know what gutters do? They keep water out of places where water shouldn't be. You know what we want Michigan State to do? Keep opposing players out of places where opposing players shouldn't be. That's why The Brothers are the official sponsor of our “player MSU needs to keep in the gutter” segment. It’s a match made in heaven. If your gutters are overflowing, clogged, damaged, or generally behaving like a Big Ten defense that has forgotten its assignments, call Kurt Stauffer and the Grand Rapids crew. The Brothers that just do Gutters — Grand Rapids They handle installation, repair, cleaning, maintenance and gutter guards throughout the Grand Rapids area. They also have you covered in Metro Detroit. The Brothers that just do Gutters — Metro Detroit Mention “Final Four” to get 10% off your gutter work. That's a much better discount than the one you'll get if you tell your contractor you finished second in your office pool. And finally, our friends at Squeegee Squad of Grand Rapids. We’ve decided that if two people are going to spend an entire basketball season arguing about who is better at cleaning the glass, we might as well have a professional window-cleaning company sponsor it. Thus, Squeegee Squad sponsors our “who cleans the glass best?” competition. They specialize in residential and commercial window cleaning, along with pressure and soft washing, gutter cleaning and other exterior cleaning services. Basically, if it's dirty and attached to your house or business, they probably have a way to make it look better. Squeegee Squad of Grand Rapids And if you'd like to let someone else handle the dirty work, you can request a free estimate here. We genuinely appreciate all three of these businesses for supporting the show. And yes, we realize there is a certain amount of irony in having a gutter company sponsor a segment about putting an opposing player in the gutter while a window-cleaning company sponsors a competition about cleaning the glass. We didn't plan it this perfectly. It just happened. #michiganstatebasketball #msuhoops #bigtenbasketball #dukebasketball #gonzagabasketball #illinoisbasketball Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.