East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State basketball is inching closer to finalizing plans to play Gonzaga on an aircraft carrier in San Diego on Veterans Day (Friday, Nov. 11).
SpartanMag.com has confirmed reports with a Michigan State athletics official that the Spartans and Zags will kick off the basketball season in a throwback game similar to the one Michigan State staged in 2011 when the Spartans played North Carolina on aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson, while docked in San Diego.
FanDuel originally reported the impending deal between Michigan State and Gonzaga on Tuesday morning, stating that the two schools are “in advanced discussions to play a neutral site game on an aircraft carrier in San Diego on Veterans Day.”
Confirmation of these plans means that the Spartans will have a daunting start to the 2022-23 college basketball season.
Four days after the Michigan State vs. Gonzaga game, the Spartans will play Kentucky in the Champions Classic on Nov. 15 in Indianapolis.
It also means that Michigan State is interested, under current athletic director Alan Haller, in continuing the tradition of unconventional sporting events, championed by former athletic director Mark Hollis. The original aircraft carrier game was Hollis's brainchild, similar to his staging of The Cold War outdoor hockey game against Michigan in 2001, and the BasketBowl stadium basketball game against Kentucky at Ford Field in 2003. Those two events led to outdoor hockey and full-stadium basketball games to become commonplace, nationwide.
Previously, when basketball games were played in indoor football stadiums, the seating areas were partitioned off, rather than including the full capacity of the stadium. The BasketBowl changed all of that.
When Michigan State played North Carolina on the aircraft carrier in 2011, President Barack Obama attended, and addressed the crowd midway through the game.
Gonzaga is ranked No. 6 in the ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25, with Drew Timme opting to return for his senior season. He averaged 18.4 points and 6.8 rebounds last year and is a two-time consensus All-American.
Gonzaga was upset as a No. 1 seed by Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament last year. A year earlier, Gonzaga went 31-0 before losing to Baylor in the National Championship game.
Kentucky is ranked No. 3 by ESPN, with 2022 National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe returning.
Michigan State went 23-13 last season and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Davidson in the First Round. Michigan State was eliminated by eventual Final Four participant Duke, 85-76, a game which Michigan State led by five points with five minutes to go.
Externally, expectations for Michigan State basketball in 2022-23 might not be high. ESPN doesn’t have Michigan State in its preseason Top 30.
Michigan State faced similar doubts the last time the Spartans opened the season in San Diego on an aircraft carrier. That year, Michigan State was coming off a 19-15 season, a first-round ouster in the NCAA Tournament, and a slew of graduations.
Michigan State had Draymond Green returning for his senior year in 2011. He averaged 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds as a junior. The next-highest returning point producers the following year were Keith Appling (6.4) and the often-injured Delvon Roe (6.1).
Green went from being third-team All-Big Ten as a junior to consensus first-team All-America as a senior.
Michigan State also received vast improvement from senior Austin Thornton, who went from 11.1 minutes per game as a junior to 21.8 as a senior. Brandon Wood, a grad transfer from Valparaiso, added 8.8 points per game, while sophomores Keith Appling (11.4) and Adreian Payne (7.0) began making a mark.
That year Michigan State began the season with a loss to No. 1 ranked North Carolina. The unranked Spartans were physical and surprisingly competitive against the Tar Heals, losing 67-55. Michigan State lost to No. 6 Duke, 74-69, four days later, again playing at a surprisingly competitive level.
Michigan State went on to win 15 consecutive games, earn a share of the Big Ten title and enter the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed despite losing standout freshman Branden Dawson to a knee injury in the last game of the regular season.
Michigan State lost to Louisville in the Sweet 16.
This season, Michigan State will similarly enter the season in underdog fashion, but with the possibilities of delivering some bite. Michigan State will need strong sophomore progress from Jaden Aikens (3.4 points per game) and Pierre Brooks (0.9 points per game) to complement a potentially explosive backcourt of A.J. Hoggard (7.0 points per game) and Tyson Walker (8.2).
Michigan State does not return a player who averaged double figures in scoring last year. The balanced Spartans had only one last season, Gabe Brown (11.6).
Michigan State will need consistency from veteran power forwards Joey Hauser (7.3) and Malik Hall (8.9), and vast improvement from junior center Mady Sissoko (1.1).
Incoming freshmen Jaxon Kohler, at the four/five, and Trejuan Holloman, at guard, will have opportunities to make an impact. Kohler is a strong candidate for a major role. Incoming freshman center Carson Cooper is planning to redshirt, but has the capacity to carve out a role.