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Michigan State basketball's non-conference schedule features Duke, Butler and Baylor

Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read

Tom Izzo’s highly touted Michigan State basketball team knows who it will play early in the 2023-24 season.

Not surprisingly, it is another tough nonconference slate for the Spartans, who are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and projected to be among the top five teams or higher in most preseason rankings.

MSU opens with a pair of exhibition games, first against Division II Hillsdale on Oct. 25 and then against Tennessee on Oct. 29. The season opens with back-to-back games at Breslin Center against James Madison on Nov. 6 and Southern Indiana on Nov. 9 before the first big test — a Nov. 14 matchup against Duke at the Champions Classic in Chicago.

That is the first of a key stretch that includes a Nov. 17 home date with Butler in the Gavitt Games and a Thanksgiving Day matchup against Arizona in the Acrisure Classic on Nov. 23 in Palm Desert, California. The Spartans also host Alcorn State on Nov. 19 as part of the Acrisure Classic.

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Michigan State coach Tom Izzo talks to his team during overtime of MSU's 98-93 overtime loss in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in New York.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo talks to his team during overtime of MSU's 98-93 overtime loss in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in New York.

MSU is still awaiting its Big Ten schedule, but nonconference play resumes in December with a Dec. 16 visit from Baylor to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The Spartans wrap up nonleague play Dec. 22 against Oakland and either Dec. 29 or 30 against Indiana State, both at Breslin.

Izzo enters his 29th season coming off a 21-13 finish in 2022-23 and his 15th Sweet 16 in a Division I-record 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Here is MSU’s complete nonconference schedule:

Michigan State basketball 2023-24 schedule

Oct. 25: Hillsdale (exhibition).

Oct. 29: Tennessee (exhibition).

Nov. 6: James Madison.

Nov. 9: Southern Indiana.

Nov. 14: Duke (Champions Classic at United Center in Chicago).

Nov. 17: Butler (Gavitt Games).

Nov. 19: Alcorn State (Acrisure Classic in East Lansing).

Nov. 23: Arizona (Acrisure Classic in Palm Desert, California).

Nov. 28: Georgia Southern.

Dec. 16: Baylor (at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit).

Dec. 22: Oakland.

Dec. 29/30: Indiana State

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball's non-conference schedule: Duke and Baylor