Spartans Embracing Tough Non-Conference Schedule

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Michigan State basketball is going to have its hands full before it even gets into the thick of its 2025-26 season when it takes on some of the toughest non-conference teams the nation has to offer.

The Spartans aren't playing around, set to take on blue bloods like Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke, and they will reportedly be hosting Arkansas as well, though that has yet to be officially confirmed.

It may not be the ideal slate for a team that's looking to adjust to several key losses and new additions and also defend its Big Ten crown, but there's no doubt it will have the Spartans battle-tested for when they head into a gauntlet of a Big Ten schedule that once again features some of the best teams in the country, some of which in some very hostile road environments.

"It's going to be great," junior forward Coen Carr said of the non-conference schedule. "I feel like we're going to play a lot of different teams that play a lot of different ways and have a lot of different lineups, so I feel like that's big when you get into Big Ten play and also March Madness.

"So, I just feel like us having that schedule, it's going to be tough obviously, but we just got to take it one game at a time."

For Carr and the other veterans who contributed to Michigan State's Elite Eight run, it might just feel like a carryover from the tournament, a level of competition they're used to. For freshmen like forward Cam Ward, though, it's going to be quite the introduction to college basketball.

"Got a lot of big games coming up, a lot of big games early, too," Ward said. "So, it will test us early and see how we are."

Ward is already preparing himself for the physicality the Big Ten will bring, an indication that he will be ready for what's to come this fall.

"Very physical," Ward said of the Big Ten. "Very physical, very fast-paced, but that's the reason I came here. I play very physical, very fast-paced, run up and down the court. So, I feel like this is the best spot for me, and that's why I chose the Big Ten."

Michigan State will face Kentucky in the Champions Classic, North Carolina in the Fort Myers Tip-Off and Duke at home on Dec. 6.

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