Michigan State basketball had a top-10 most-watched college or NBA game of 2023, according to one report. Which game made the list?
The Michigan State basketball season didn’t end the way fans would have liked, but there were some memorable games along the way.
The Spartans took down No. 2 seed Marquette in the second round and nearly upended No. 3 seed Kansas State in the Sweet 16. If the Spartans had made it to the Elite Eight, there’s just no telling how far they would have gone in a very winnable field.
Although fans clearly didn’t enjoy seeing Markquis Nowell almost single-handedly break the Spartan defense, the game prior was a classic and actually happened to be one of the most-watched basketball games of 2023.
College Basketball Report posted the top 10 most-watched games of 2023 on Twitter, both college and NBA, and Michigan State made the cut at No. 10.
Whenever you hear someone say that Michigan State is not a national brand, show them this. I don’t see Duke, Kansas, UCLA, or Kentucky on there. The Spartans had the 10th-highest viewership of any basketball game in 2023 for a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup. Just think about that for a second.
Insane.
There were only five college basketball games on the list and Michigan State was one of them. Not even the Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas State but a second-round battle for a chance to go to the second weekend.
It’s crazy to think that Michigan State was just behind Game 3 of the NBA Finals and higher than all but four college basketball games in 2023. That brand is bigger than people really think.
That Marquette vs. Michigan State basketball game will always be remembered by Spartan fans because of the nature of the upset. No one gave Michigan State a shot to take down what some believed to be the “best No. 2 seed” in the NCAA Tournament but it did so and controlled the entire game.
I’d be willing to bet Michigan State is on this list again next year, at least once.