Michigan State men's basketball had most of the pieces to the non-conference puzzle filled in already, but fans can finish penciling in the last opponent following the release of the full non-conference schedule on Thursday afternoon.
MSU fans will get to watch eight home games this season with only three neutral court matchups and no true road games for the 2023-2024 non-conference season. While several high-profile matchups await, it is also not quite the daunting travel and opponent schedule usually seen by a Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State team.
Thanks to regular updates from Spartans Illustrated during the offseason, Spartan fans were aware of the majority of the schedule prior to today. The missing pieces finally released today come with an exhibition matchup against the Hillsdale Chargers on October 25 and a visit by Stony Brook on Dec. 21.
The matchup against Division II Hillsdale will be the second exhibition game against the Chargers. The Spartans defeated the Chargers 80-58 on Nov. 4, 2011 back when Hillsdale was still a member of the GLIAC. Now a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the exhibition game will be the second time the program will visit the Breslin Center.
As for the regular season matchup against Stony Brook, it will be the second matchup between the two programs. The Seawolves visited East Lansing for the first game between the two programs Nov. 18, 2017. The Spartans hold a 1-0 advantage in the series thanks to a 93-71 victory.
The full schedule is available below.
Other notable games recently announced include a charity exhibition matchup against Tennessee with proceeds benefiting the Hawai'i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund. The charity fund is providing financial resources to the relief efforts from the recent and devastating wildfires on Maui.
A visit by Indiana State on Dec. 30 will also mark the first time the Spartans and Sycamores will play one another since the 1979 national championship matchup.
Matchups previously reported include a season opening visit by James Madison on Nov. 6 followed by a visit by Southern Indiana on Nov. 9. The Champions Classic this year draws Duke for MSU and will be played at the United Center in Chicago on Nov. 14 for the first game outside the confines of the Breslin Center.
A visit from Butler as part of the Gavitt Games awaits Michigan State on Nov. 17. Then one more home game as an on-campus component of the inaugural Acrisure Invitational awaits with a visit by Alcorn State. It will be the second ever matchup between the programs as the Braves fell 118-60 against the Spartans on Dec. 13, 2008 in East Lansing.
The second matchup as part of the Acrisure Invitational will be against Arizona in the desert of Palm Springs, California. The game will be played on Thanksgiving Day and follow the conclusion of the Detroit Lions game.
After the holiday invite, a visit by Georgia Southern will be the final game for the Spartans on Nov. 28 before early Big Ten action will take up the schedule. Non-conference play will resume with a big time neutral court game against Baylor set for Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit on Dec. 16.
Oakland will be making a second straight visit to the Breslin Center for the annual intrastate matchup. The previously mentioned Stony Brook and Indiana State games will finish out the non-conference schedule before Big Ten play resumes in 2024.
The conference schedule and games times along with television information is expected to be released at a later date. However, the opponent matchups were released earlier this year. MSU will face home-only opponents in Iowa, Ohio State, and Rutgers. The away-only opponents include Indiana, Nebraska, and Purdue.
Meanwhile, both home and away opponents will include Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois, Penn State, and Wisconsin.
The Michigan State women's non-conference schedule for its upcoming 2023-2024 season was released yesterday.
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