Preview: MSU Basketball's Exhibition vs. Incarnate Word

Date: Friday, Oct. 2

Tip-Off: 7 p.m. ET

Streaming: B1G+ | Prices: $12.99/month or $89.99/year

Fast Facts on Matchup

MSU's 2025-26 Record: 27-8 overall, 15-5 Big Ten | Lost to (2) UConn in the Sweet 16

Head Coach: Tom Izzo (32nd season at MSU and overall) | Career W-L Record: 764-310

UIW's 2025-26 Record: 12-19 overall, 7-15 Southland | Did not qualify for the Southland Conference Tournament

Head Coach: Shane Heirman (fourth season at UIW and overall) | Career W-L Record: 39-59

Things To Watch Against Incarnate Word

Having a glimpse of Michigan State this early will definitely be interesting. The Spartans only officially began practice last week, though the team has already been together for a bit during summer workouts. Tom Izzo, a former Division II guy himself, wanted to get a D-II in to play MSU for this exhibition that is the same night as the Izzone Campout, but NCAA rules prevented a lower-tier program from playing an exhibition this early.

Incarnate Word makes a lot of sense as a replacement, actually. The Cardinals' coach, Shane Heirman, used to be Jaren Jackson Jr.'s head coach at La Lumiere School in Indiana, so he and Izzo likely interacted a fair bit during that time. In addition, lead assistant Doug Wojcik's brother, Dave, is also on the Incarnate Word staff.

The biggest thing to watch on Friday will be the kind of lineups Izzo experiments with. That's really the most interesting part of exhibition games in general: it's one of the few shots Izzo has to throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks against live competition. The only bit of injury news is a minor ankle sprain for Cam Ward. He won't play on Friday, but it's minor enough that Izzo says they'd let him play if it were a real game.

Since practice essentially just started, there shouldn't be much to say about who plays the most minutes or who plays well. The exception may be with the newcomers. Michigan State has a hyped-up freshman class this year and a new starting center from the portal, Anton Bonke. That first impression and how they look will be the main storyline on Friday night at the Breslin Center.