Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball’s non-conference schedule

MSU will face old rival Hunter Dickinson and Kansas on Nov. 12 in the Champions Classic in Atlanta.

Michigan State released its men’s basketball non-conference schedule Tuesday, featuring several games already on the calendar and few others of varying interest.

The notable bookmarks begin with an exhibition game in against Northern Michigan University at the Superior Dome on Oct. 13 in Marquette, the season-opener against Monmouth on Monday, Nov. 4, a date with Kansas on Nov. 12 in the Champions Classic and three games in three days at the Maui Invitational, beginning Nov. 25 against Colorado.

Here’s MSU’s complete non-league slate, followed by three quick takes on it:

Oct. 12: At Northern Michigan, 1 p.m. (Exhibition)Oct. 29: Ferris State (Exhibition)Nov. 4: MonmouthNov. 7: NiagaraNov. 12: Kansas, in AtlantaNov. 16: Bowling GreenNov. 19: SamfordNov. 25-27: Maui Invitational (Nov. 25 Colorado, 5 p.m. ET; Nov. 26 UConn/Memphis, 6 p.m./3:30 p.m; Nov. 27 North Carolina/Dayton/Iowa State/Auburn, TBD)Dec: 17 Oakland, in DetroitDec 21: Florida AtlanticDec 30: Western Michigan

1. A lot of good in-state and MSU connection matchups

This is exactly what a non-conference schedule for MSU ought to look like, beyond the featured marquee games — matchups with in-state mid-majors and programs with fun connections to MSU’s program and the Lansing area.

The exhibition at Northern Michigan’s Superior Dome is the chef’s kiss, a bucket-list game for Tom Izzo (at his alma mater) and one of the cool event games MSU has done.

Beyond that, in the mid-major realm, this is close to as good as it gets — with visits from Bowling Green and Western Michigan, and the semi-annual trip to play Oakland at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Bowling Green’s second-year head coach is Fowler native Todd Simon. The Falcons’ associate head coach is former MSU point guard Tum Tum Nairn. Simon, whose wife Kati is also from the area (a Pewamo-Westphalia alum), previously brought his Southern Utah program…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/couch-3-quick-takes-michigan-213322837.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2024-09-10 21:33:22

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