EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State begins its 2026-27 men’s basketball season Monday night at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, where the sixth-ranked Spartans host Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. in a matchup the two schools have never played before.
Tom Izzo starts his 32nd season in charge after a year that ended 27-8, with a 15-5 Big Ten record and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. The Spartans must replace center Carson Cooper and forward Jaxon Kohler up front.
Senior point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is back after leading the country with 9.4 assists a game, and he was picked as the Big Ten preseason player of the year. Senior forward Coen Carr, who averaged 12.0 points, also returns. The preseason was uneven: an 89-59 win over Incarnate Word, then losses to UConn and at Marquette.
Quinnipiac is coached by Tom Pecora, who is 63-36 in three seasons there and was named the league’s top coach in 2024 and again in 2025. The Bobcats went 19-13 last season. Sophomore forward Keith McKnight, a unanimous preseason all-league first-team pick, put up 11.0 points with 5.9 boards per game as a freshman.
After Monday, the Bobcats go home to Hamden to face Bryant on Nov. 5. The game streams on B1G+.
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