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Michigan State men's basketball has its opponent for the opening game of the 2023-24 regular season.
First reported by bracketologist and college basketball analyst Rocco Miller the end of June and later confirmed by the Dukes' schedule, the Spartans will open Tom Izzoโs 29th season as head coach against James Madison on Monday, Nov. 6 in East Lansing, Michigan at the Breslin Center
Last season, James Madison finished in fourth place in the Sun Belt. The Dukes had a final record of 22-11, and went 12-6 in conference play. That includes a close, five-point loss at Virginia, which was ranked No. 3 by the Associated Press at the time.
Mark Byington is the head coach of James Madison. He spent seven seasons at Georgia Southern before leaving the program to be the next head man for the Dukes. Byington is coming off of his winningest season at JMU. Another important name to know on the JMU coaching staff is assistant coach Matt Bucklin. Bucklin is the nephew of Izzo.
This will be the first ever meeting between the Dukes and the Spartans. MSU is 2-0 all-time against Sun Belt opponents. The latest meeting between MSU and a Sun Belt opponent was on Nov. 14, 2018 against Louisiana-Monroe, which resulted in a 80-59 victory for the Spartans.
Michigan State is coming off of a 21-13 overall record during the 2022-2023 campaign, including an 11-8 mark in the Big Ten. The Spartans advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before being defeated in overtime by Kansas State.
MSU will be one of the favorites in the Big Ten heading into the 2023-2024 season. The Spartans bring back a lot of pieces from its Sweet 16 team this past season. That includes guard Tyson Walker, guard Jaden Akins , guard A.J. Hoggard, forward Malik Hall and many others.
MSU also welcomes in the No. 6 recruiting class in the country, according to Rivals. The Spartans are bringing in five-star power forward Xavier Booker and four-stars Coen Carr (forward), Jeremy Fears Jr. (point guard) and Gehrig Normand (shooting guard/small forward).
In addition to the JMU game, the Spartans will play Arizona in non-conference play on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23) at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time in Palm Desert, California.
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