The Spartans, led by 23rd-year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.

"[25] The Sporting News summarized: "Bridges hasn’t announced his decision yet, but Spartans fans aren’t holding their breath (he’s expected to be a lottery pick).

[37][38][39] Losing only seniors Eron Harris and Alvin Ellis III, the Spartans returned eight of their top 10 players from the prior season.

[42] After missing out on late recruiting targets (Brian Bowen, Mark Smith, and Brandon McCoy), the Spartans had one remaining open scholarship.

"[58] On September 6, 2017, Michigan State announced that it would wear a memorial patch on their uniforms during the season for former head coach Jud Heathcote who died in late August.

[75][76] On October 29, MSU took on Georgia in a hastily planned charity exhibition game in Grand Rapids to benefit hurricane victims.

On November 16, the school announced that forward Kenny Goins had suffered a knee strain in the Duke game and would miss several weeks due to the injury.

[91] The Spartans returned home to face Stony Brook in a campus site game for the Phil Knight Invitational on November 19.

[92] The Spartans pulled away in the second half, but suffered a scare as Miles Bridges went down with an ankle injury with over eight minutes remaining in the game.

[106] MSU's defense was again the star of the show, holding UNC to a school-record low for shooting percentage as they shot 24.6% from the field, including 5.6% from three-point land.

[120] Miles Bridges scored 21 points while Jackson Jr. tied a single-game Spartan record with eight blocks, but MSU still needed two big three-pointers later in the game by Cassius Winston to pull out the 10-point victory, 62–52.

[130][131] On December 16, the Spartans participated in the Hitachi College Basketball Showcase held at the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and took on Oakland.

On New Year's Eve, Savannah State traveled to East Lansing for the Spartans final non-conference game of the season.

[179] Turnovers again became a problem late in the second half as the Illini narrowed the lead to eight, but Jackson and Bridges hit 10 straight free throws down the stretch to allow the Spartans to escape with an 87–74 win.

[187] Miles Bridges led all scorers with 24 and Wisconsin's Ian Happ scored 22 of this 23 points in the second half to prevent the game from turning into a rout.

After the game, Izzo did not comment much on the sexual assault allegations, but stated that he was not planning on retiring and that he wanted be part of the healing process.

[195] The Nittany Lions pushed the lead to 12 early in the second half as it appeared the distractions surrounding the program were causing issues.

MSU started well, taking an early lead, but foul trouble for Nick Ward and Jaren Jackson Jr. limited their effectiveness in the first half as they sat out for more than 10 minutes.

Josh Langford made two free throws to extend the lead to 96–93 with six seconds remaining and Bridges stole the ensuing Iowa pass before being fouled.

MSU welcomed Big Ten co-leader Purdue to the Breslin Center on February 10 for a Jud Heathcote tribute game.

[217] MSU was able to tighten the score and take the lead, but still trailed by two when Kenny Goins hit a jumper to tie the game at 65 with 49 seconds remaining.

Miles Bridges, who scored 20 in the game, took the ball and hit a three-pointer over Dakota Mathias to give MSU the 68–65 lead with seven seconds remaining.

[219] The 68–65 win moved MSU to 24–3, 12–2 in Big Ten play and into a tie for second with Purdue, still one game behind conference-leading Ohio State.

Four made free throws by Miles Bridges with less than a minute remaining sealed the 65–60 win in front of a largely pro-Michigan State crowd.

[240] The win and an Ohio State loss the following day put the Spartans in first place by themselves with only two games remaining in the regular season.

[241] The Spartans returned home for Senior Night against Illinois on February 20 with a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 2012.

[248] Looking to win the Big Ten title outright, the Spartans traveled to Wisconsin on February 25 for the final regular season game.

1 seed in the Big Ten tournament held at Madison Square Garden, MSU faced Wisconsin in the quarterfinals on March 2 following the Badgers' win over Maryland the day before.

[257] On March 3, the Spartans faced their rivals, Michigan, looking to avenge an early season loss at the Breslin Center.

[258] Miles Bridges scored 17 for the Spartans, including showing a strong post presence, but it was not enough as MSU could not overcome Michigan's defense.