Season Opener for Michigan State Men's Basketball Revealed

Michigan State men's basketball and Tom Izzo aim to make a much deeper run in the NCAA Tournament next season. Their journey back to March Madness begins with an opponent Michigan State has never faced before.

Mar 20, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo during practice at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

As Michigan State and Tom Izzo aim to finish next season with a much deeper NCAA Tournament run, they have had multiple departures and additions. However, there remains the always-constant Coach Izzo, who will soon begin another journey towards an NCAA Tournament appearance and, if Coach Izzo could have his way, another NCAA Tournament championship. 

Michigan State’s first step in that journey was recently announced. According to the program, the Spartans will open their season with a non-conference game against Niagra, scheduled for Nov. 7 at the Breslin Center. Last season, the Spartans opened their season with the program’s first appearance against James Madison, a game the Spartans would lose. 

Michigan State and Coach Izzo hope for a different result next season, as it will be the second consecutive season Michigan State will be playing against a school for the first time ever in their home opener. 

Izzo and Michigan State are still learning more about their schedule for next season. So far, few details have been released about the team’s schedule. It was announced earlier this offseason that Michigan State and Oakland will play their annual game against each other on Dec. 17 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. In addition to that, Michigan State has committed to playing in the Champions Classic this season.

Many of the details are likely still being figured out because of the new logistical aspect of the Big Ten adding teams. Not only did the conference add multiple new schools, but many schools are on the other side of the country, creating a need for further schedule planning. The Big Ten has increased to 18 teams but will continue with its 20-game conference schedule. 

Michigan State will face Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan at home and once on the road next season. Michigan State will only play USC, UCLA, Maryland, Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State and Rutgers, facing each of those teams on the road. Michigan State will also face Indiana, Penn State, Purdue, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Washington each one time, with all of those games taking place in East Lansing. 

Michigan State lost solid contributors when AJ Hoggard, Tyson Walker, Malik Hall, and Mady Sissoko all moved on. However, Izzo and the Spartans were able to add a few talented players to their roster as well, adding transfers Frankie Fidler and Szymon Zapala. Izzo was also able to add three talented freshmen: Kur Teng, Jase Richardson and Jesse McCulloch.

"Having the rest of my core back is important to me, and now those guys gotta get better, and that'll be what's interesting," Izzo said at the Detroit Economic Club in early June. "As we look around in our conference alone, we have schools with 10, 11 new guys. Other people did it a different way. There's a lot of ways to skin a cat, as they say. We'll see how it works out. But I'm excited. So we got everybody back. I love the chemistry. As we start working out with them more, I'll tell you whether I love the production."

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