Michigan State's head coach Tom Izzo celebrates after a play during the game against Minnesota on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MSU Basketball Announces Full Non-Conference Schedule

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 2:27 PM ET

Little tidbits about the non-conference schedule for Michigan State men's basketball this upcoming season have come out over the past couple months, but the Spartans have finally released the whole thing.

In total, MSU will play 11 regular season games and two exhibitions away from its 20-game Big Ten schedule.

The full slate of games that Michigan State has released is down below. Times and television channels are still TBA.

Non-Conference Schedule

Oct. 23: Bowling Green (exh.)

Oct. 28: @ UConn (exh.)

Nov. 3: Colgate

Nov. 8: Arkansas

Nov. 13: San Jose State

Nov. 18: vs. Kentucky (Champions Classic in New York, NY)

Nov. 21: Detroit Mercy

Nov. 25: vs. East Carolina (Fort Myers Tip-Off)

Nov. 27: vs. North Carolina (Fort Myers Tip-Off)

Dec. 6: Duke

Dec. 16: Toledo

Dec. 20: vs. Oakland (Little Caesars Arena, Detroit)

Dec. 29: Cornell

New Games Announced

All of the biggest games on the non-conference schedule had already been announced. The road exhibition at UConn and games against Arkansas, Kentucky, East Carolina, North Carolina and Duke were all public knowledge.

Bowling Green spoiled the announcement of the first game back at the Breslin Center on Monday, when the Falcons announced their entire schedule.

Tony Paul of the Detroit News reported that MSU would face Oakland again in Detroit on Monday night. The in-state opponents will also play in 2026 and 2027 in East Lansing.

What's new is a lot of the games Michigan State has against other mid-major programs. The home contests against Colgate, San Jose State, Detroit Mercy, Toledo and Cornell are all games that are now known for the first time.

Instant Analysis

The obvious thing that sticks out is just how difficult the slate is. Michigan State never plays a true road game during the regular season, but there are still several very difficult games on the schedule.

For most teams, playing Arkansas, Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky would be something that gets spread out over a few years. Michigan State is going to face all of them before even starting the grind of the Big Ten.

There's also a few sneakily good mid-majors on there (remember James Madison?). Opening up the season with Colgate could be a legitimate challenge; the Raiders have made the NCAA Tournament in five out of the last seven years.

There's also Toledo, who has won the MAC regular season championship in six of the last eight seasons.

It's no secret that Izzo likes to make his non-conference slate difficult. This year especially is no different.