Michigan State's Grace VanSlooten, center, is pressured by, from left, Michigan's Te'Yala Delfosse, Mila Holloway and Kendall Dudley during overtime on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Preview: MSU Women’s Big Rematch Against Michigan

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Feb 15, 2026 9:00 AM ET

Another huge test awaits the Michigan State women's basketball team, which still has a whole lot to play for.

No. 13 MSU is coming off a blowout loss to second-ranked UCLA at home on Wednesday night. Next up is a trip to Ann Arbor to take on its rival, Michigan, ranked seventh in the country.

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These two teams met up in East Lansing two weeks ago Sunday. It was a great showcase for women's basketball, as viewers got to see a truly high-level game, but it came at the expense of a 94-91 loss for the Spartans in overtime.

Michigan State is going to be looking for some revenge in this one. Here's how you can watch:

TV Info

Tip-Off: 4 p.m. ET

Channel: FS1

Announcers: Jake Eisenberg (play-by-play), Tykera Carter (analyst)

Stakes of Sunday's Matchup

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The Spartans are limping into this game a little bit. They've lost three of their last four games, one of those losses being to UM, and the only win required a second-half comeback against a Penn State team that is 1-13 in Big Ten play now. In fairness, all three losses have been to ranked foes, but this game only makes the schedule tougher.

For the season, Michigan State will be entering with a 20-5 overall record with a 9-5 mark during conference play. The Wolverines are 21-4 and 11-2, respectively. Three of Michigan's four losses have been to teams currently projected by ESPN's Charlie Creme to be 1 seeds in March (UConn, UCLA, and Vanderbilt).

As of Creme's most recent update, which came in on Friday, MSU is currently projected to be a 3 seed. The main thing the Spartans are playing for right now is to be a top-4 seed, because that means they would get to host the first and second rounds of their NCAA Tournament run.

It's the fun, quirky difference between the men's and the women's tournament, but earning that home-court advantage really matters. Last year, 13 of the 16 teams that made it to the second weekend were top-4 seeds, and the three teams that were not were all 5 seeds.

Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A win here for Michigan State against Michigan on the road would basically make NCAA Tournament games coming to the Breslin Center official. If it does happen, which doesn't necessarily require a win on Sunday for MSU, the first round would be on either March 20 or 21, and then the second round would be two days later on either March 22 or 23.

Head coach Robyn Fralick has been building her program upwards in each of her first three seasons in East Lansing. That would be her biggest milestone.