Izzone fans gets amped up for Michigan State basketball
The Izzone, about 3,000 students strong, wields major influence at home games in Breslin Center on MSU’s campus.
Get your frequent flier miles ready. Michigan State basketball’s schedule in the newly expanded Big Ten will provide plenty of travel.
Coach Tom Izzo’s 30th season as the Spartans’ head coach once again will stretch his ethos of anyone, anywhere, any time. To the east and west. To the south and north. Across another ocean. Across the Great Lakes.
And a long wait to face their biggest rival.
MSU, which went 20-15 last season and lost to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament, took a 10-day August trip to Spain and played three games against international competition. The Spartans’ next road trip will be to the Upper Peninsula for an exhibition game at Izzo’s alma mater, Division II Northern Michigan. That will be a 1 p.m. game Oct. 13 at the Superior Dome in Marquette, MSU’s first visit since beating Izzo and the Wildcats 91-59 on Dec. 16, 1974.
When the games begin to count, the travel multiplies.
MSU faces Kansas in the Champions Classic on Nov. 12 in Atlanta, then two weeks later will cross the Pacific Ocean and return to the Maui Invitational for the first time since 2019 and open Nov. 25 against Colorado.
The Spartans also will play their annual game against Oakland on Dec. 17 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit before closing out nonconference play against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 21 in East Lansing.
That is when the Big Ten schedule amps up.
MSU and Michigan won’t play their annual two games until Feb. 21 (in Ann Arbor) and March 9 (at Breslin Center), which will be MSU’s regular-season finale. Before that, the Spartans will travel to new Big Ten members USC (Feb. 1) and UCLA (Feb. 4) and host Washington (Jan. 9) and Oregon (Feb. 8). The Spartans play each of those teams once. They also do not have to travel to Purdue, Indiana or Wisconsin this season but have to face Iowa, Maryland and Rutgers on the road only.
Along with U-M, MSU’s other two-play opponents include a Big Ten opener at Minnesota on Dec. 4 in Minneapolis as well as a pair of games with Illinois.
MSU basketball’s 2024-25 schedule
Oct. 13: at Northern Michigan, 1 p.m. (exhibition).
Oct. 29: Ferris State (exhibition).
Nov. 4: Monmouth.
Nov. 7: Niagara.
Nov. 12: Kansas (Champions Classic in Atlanta).
Nov. 16: Bowling Green.
Nov. 19: Samford.
Nov. 25: Colorado (Maui Invitational).
Nov. 26: UConn or Memphis (Maui Invitational).
Nov. 27: North Carolina or Dayton or Iowa State or Auburn (Maui Invitational).
Dec. 4: at Minnesota.
Dec. 7: Nebraska.
Dec. 17: Oakland (in Detroit).
Dec. 21: Florida Atlantic.
Jan. 3: at Ohio State.
Jan. 9: Washington.
Jan. 12: at Northwestern.
Jan. 15: Penn State.
Jan. 19: Illinois.
Jan. 25: at Rutgers.
Jan. 28: Minnesota.
Feb. 1: at USC.
Feb. 4: at UCLA.
Feb. 8: Oregon.
Feb. 11: Indiana.
Feb. 15: at Illinois.
Feb. 18: Purdue.
Feb. 21: at Michigan.
Feb. 26: at Maryland.
March 2: Wisconsin.
March 6: at Iowa.
March 9: Michigan.
March 12-16: Big Ten tournament — Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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