We are still months away from the official 2025-26 Michigan State basketball schedule coming out but who said we couldn’t start piecing together what we already know about next year’s slate?
Unlike football, college basketball schedules are typically built in between seasons with only a few pre-planned games from years before included on the docket. Michigan State is no different with most of its non-conference slate still being constructed, but we do at least know of a few monster matchups on the slate for next year.
With that being said, let’s dive into what we already know about the 2025-26 Michigan State basketball schedule as we begin to look ahead to next year:
Champions Classic
Opponent: Kentucky
Date: November 18
The annual Champions Classic will continue next year with the Spartans drawing Kentucky in the early season marquee matchup. The Wildcats are widely considered a preseason top 10 team and the Spartans are in the No. 15 – 20 range depending on the media outlet. So this should be a fun early season test for both of these programs that have aspirations of reaching the 2026 Final Four.
Fort Myers Tip-Off
Opponents: East Carolina and North Carolina
Dates: November 25 and 27
The Spartans will take place in a pair of games as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off event during the week of Thanksgiving. It has officially been announced that Michigan State will face East Carolina on Tuesday, November 25 and then North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day.
Home vs. Duke
Date: December 6
The Spartans will play host to the Duke Blue Devils in a non-conference monster matchup from the Breslin Center. This matchup has been officially announced with the game taking place on December 6. This will serve as the return trip to East Lansing, Mich. after Duke hosted Michigan State in the Champions Classic during 2020.
Home vs. Arkansas
Date: To be determined
It was reported in mid-June that Michigan State will start a home-and-home series with the Arkansas Razorbacks, with the first game being played at the Breslin Center this upcoming season. The series hasn’t been officially announced but we can expect a big-time, heavyweight matchup between hall of famers Tom Izzo and John Calipari this upcoming season.
Big Ten Regular Season
The official Big Ten schedule will come out over the next few months, but last week we at least got an indication of where Michigan State will play each of its conference games with the official home-road splits announced. Here is an indication of who the Spartans will host at home, play on the road and play both at home and away:
Home Only:
Away Only:
Home and Away:
The Big Ten slate includes 20 regular season games and typically begins in December with a few games before the holidays break. My assumption is that will continue again this year, with conference games leading all the way through the first week in March.
Big Ten Tournament
Dates: March 11 – 15
The top 15 teams in the Big Ten qualify for the conference tournament so this is technically not a given that the Spartans will be playing in the event but we can somewhat assume here. The conference tournament will take place at the United Center in Chicago next season.
Other Notes and Thoughts
With what we know now, the Spartans have 26 of the 31 regular season games filled for next year. That means we should expect at least five more non-conference games to be added to the slate.
In-state foe Oakland is typically on the Spartans’ roster so that should be expected again this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan State added one more marquee matchup to go along with Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina. But I also wouldn’t be shocked if we see the remaining four games filled with other mid-major opponents.
Over the next few months we should get a better indication and reports of who else the Spartans have added to its 2025-26 schedule. But as it stands now, it should have plenty of fun and intriguing games on the slate throughout the season.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: What we know about MSU basketball’s 2025-26 schedule at this point
Reporting by Robert Bondy, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
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