Michigan State basketball and football have a combined winning percentage of No. 21 in the nation

It’s no secret that Michigan State basketball and football pack some of the best one-two punches in the country. Both programs have won multiple national championships and have been relevant on the national stage as of late.

But both programs have also had major problems in recent years.

How do both programs compare to the rest of the country?

According to College Basketball Report, Michigan State is No. 21 in the nation in combined winning percentage in both football and basketball over the past 10 years. Their 64 percent winning percentage also ranks No. 6 in the Big Ten.

When you think about this chart and MSU’s final position, two thoughts come to mind.

The first thing this chart tells me is that as Michigan State fans, we are pretty spoiled. So many sports programs have elite programs when it comes to one of those sports, but MSU is thankfully rock solid in both.

Just think about all the great seasons we’ve had under Tom Izzo over the years. 2017-2020 was about as good as it gets for Michigan State basketball. Three straight Big Ten titles and a Final Four is no joke, and it could have been even better if it weren’t for COVID-19.

Even Michigan State football has had great years in the past decade. The 2014 and 2015 teams under Mark Dantonio were electric. Even 2017 was another solid year, with 2021 under Mel Tucker looking like a special year (shoutout Kenneth Walker).

So all in all, it’s no surprise that the Spartans are so high on this list. But I think we all know they can do better. Which brings me to my second thought.

Despite the success both programs have had over the past decade, they have also had their share of hard times, especially recently.

Since COVID-19 ended Michigan State’s chances of winning Izzo’s second title in 2020, the team hasn’t been the same. The football team has had more bad years than good, including the last two seasons, plus a three-win season in 2016 and a two-win season in 2020.

While these are all clearly negatives, I see it as a positive when it comes to this graph. This tells me that our program’s bad years aren’t as bad as other schools’, and with a few good years from both programs, Michigan State can quickly climb this graph.

And I have every confidence that both programs will do that.