The Lions will be the main course, and Michigan State will be the dessert.
Michigan State men’s basketball will play a marquee nonconference men’s basketball game against Arkansas at Little Caesars Arena on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 26.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo confirmed the opponent while talking to Lansing sports reporter Tim Staudt this week, and Arkansas head coach John Calipari confirmed the game on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday afternoon. The News previoulsy reported in December that Michigan State was in talks with a marquee opponent to play a Thanksgiving game in downtown Detroit.
The Lions will play during the day at Ford Field, per usual, for a 1 p.m. kickoff against an opponent to be announced next month, when the NFL does its schedule reveal.
Then, Michigan State and Arkansas will play shortly thereafter, with a tip expected to around 5 p.m. Both games will be on national television; the Lions on CBS and Michigan State-Arkansas on a network TBD.
That would put Detroit in the national spotlight on a holiday for the better part of six hours.
Michigan State had discussions with multiple possible opponents for the game at LCA, but in the end, it worked out a deal (still to be signed) with Arkansas and Calipari, pitting two members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame against each other.
The coaches are 3-3 against each other, with Michigan State beating Arkansas, 69-66, at Breslin Center in November in a game that was originally scheduled to be the first game of a home-and-home series. The 2026 game was supposed to be Michigan State’s return trip, but now it won’t be. Calipari wrote on X on Thursday that MSU will make a return trip at some point, and that the schools are still working on a date for that.
Officials from Little Caesars Arena and 313 Presents haven’t officially announced the basketball game between Michigan State and Arkansas, so ticket details remain TBD.
The game will serve as a college basketball showcase in downtown Detroit ahead of the Final Four, which will be at Ford Field in 2027. In 2009, the last time the Final Four was in Detroit, Michigan State played North Carolina in a game at Ford Field in December (won by North Carolina, 98-63), before they met again in that season’s national-championship game (also won by North Carolina, 89-72).
Michigan State was a No. 3 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, losing to Connecticut in the Sweet 16. Arkansas, led by Detroit’s Darius Acuff Jr., was a No. 4 seed, losing to Arizona in the Sweet 16. UConn (Illinois) and Arizona (Michigan) are in the Final Four.
Calipari and Izzo are second and 11th among active wins leaders in college basketball, with 863 and 764, respectively. Izzo has gotten all of his at Michigan State; Calipari has previously been at UMass, Memphis and Kentucky.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan State vs. Arkansas basketball game set for Thanksgiving in Detroit
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
