Michigan State Men's Basketball releases 2025-2026 non-conference schedule
The Spartans will face a tough 11-game non-conference schedule familiar to longtime Tom Izzo fans.
Michigan State men's basketball released its full 11-game schedule for its upcoming 2025-2026 non-conference season. Including the upcoming Big Ten schedule, this year's home slate will be the largest ever of the Tom Izzo era in terms of power conference opponents, featuring 12 total. Overall, MSU will also play against three power conference opponents on the road or at neutral courts, including an exhibition game.
The schedule overall is as follows:
Oct. 23 - Bowling Green (Exh.)
Oct. 28 - at UConn (Exh.)
Nov. 3 - Colgate
Nov. 8 Arkansas
Nov. 13 - San Jose State
Nov. 18 - Kentucky (Champions Classic, Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 25 - East Carolina (Fort Myers Tip-Off, Ft. Myers, FL.)
Nov. 27 - North Carolina (Fort Myers Tip-Off, Ft. Myers, FL.)
Dec. 6 - Duke
Dec. 16 - Toledo
Dec. 20 - Oakland (Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI.)
Dec. 29 - Cornell
The Spartans will play a pair of exhibition games to start the 2025-26 season, hosting Bowling Green on Thursday, Oct. 23 followed by a visit to play at Connecticut on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
Michigan State kicks off its regular season against Colgate at home on Monday, Nov. 3. Following will be a visit from Arkansas on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Razorbacks will visit under the leadership of longtime Izzo friend, head coach John Calipari. MSU finishes its homestand against San Jose State on Thursday, Nov. 13. The head coaching seat for the Spartans of San Jose will be a familiar face to longtime MSU fans as it is former Nebraska head coach Tim Miles.
The Spartans head to New York City next to take on Kentucky in the Champions Classic at the world's most famous arena in Manhattan on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
MSU returns to the Breslin Center next to host Detroit coached by longtime Izzo assistant Mark Montgomery on Friday, Nov. 21.
Back on the road again after facing the Titans for the first time in 37 years, the Spartans will participate in the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Florida. MSU opens play against East Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 25 before facing North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day.
Back in East Lansing, Michigan State will host Duke on Saturday, Dec. 6 before what will likely be a pause in the non-conference schedule for two early Big Ten games to follow.
Resuming non-conference action, the Spartans will host Toledo on Tuesday, Dec. 16 before heading down Interstart-96 to take on Oakland at Little Casear's Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 20. The game will mark the 13th-straight year facing the Golden Grizzlies and the fourth time in downtown Detroit (a count of games at the former Palace of Auburn Hills, RIP, was not available).
Michigan State will wrap up its non-conference schedule against Cornell on Monday, Dec. 29 before resuming conference action for the rest of the regular season.
Television and start times will be announced at a later date. The Big Ten league schedule will also be released soon.
For the Big Ten schedule, the Spartans will face the following teams:
Home and Away: Indiana, Michigan, and Rutgers
Home: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State, UCLA, and USC
Away: Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Washington, and Wisconsin
Michigan State finished the 2024-25 season with a 30-7 overall record, including a 17-3 mark in the Big Ten Conference, as the team won the regular season title for the 11th time under Izzo and was selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th-straight season. The Spartans advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time and finished the year ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25.
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