Michigan State Basketball: Series history vs. Baylor Bears

Michigan State basketball will face No. 6 Baylor on Saturday afternoon. What does the series history between these two look like?

Michigan State basketball plays its final marquee non-conference opponent of the season on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans take on the Baylor Bears in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena. Tom Izzo’s squad will have its hands full as Baylor is off to an impressive start. The Bears enter this game undefeated at 9-0 and ranked No. 6 in the country.

These programs have a little history between them.

Let’s take a quick look at the series history between these two elite programs before the game on Saturday afternoon.

Baylor leads the all-time series 2-0

Unfortunately, Baylor leads Michigan State in the all-time series 2-0. I think Spartan fans are used to leading most teams in their all-time series, so this surprised me a little. Baylor hasn’t been a great program until recently, but these two matchups are both in recent years when they were very good. So that probably explains why they have this series lead.

The first meeting between these two came in 2016 in the Bahamas in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The 20th-ranked Bears dominated the 24th-ranked Spartans in the second half en route to a 73-58 victory. The next matchup, in 2021, was eerily similar to the first. These two teams once again played in the Battle 4 Atlantis, this time in the championship game. The unranked Spartans trailed No. 6 Baylor by only two points at the half, but the Bears once again dominated the second half and won 75-58. Those two final scores being nearly identical is a wild stat.

Can Michigan State turn the tide on Saturday?

Michigan State is going to have a tough time getting its first win against Baylor on Saturday. As mentioned, Baylor is one of the best teams in the country, ranked No. 6 and undefeated. Michigan State, on the other hand, has had an abysmal start, currently sitting at 4-5. Baylor is only favored by 4.5 points, so Vegas thinks this should be a close matchup.

The Spartans need a win badly. A loss to Baylor doesn’t negatively impact the season like some of our other losses have. But a win is exactly what we need to strengthen our NCAA Tournament odds and turn this season around.

This game has that feeling where we win a game we shouldn’t, so I hope that feeling comes true.