Date set for Michigan State-Tennessee basketball clash in Knoxville
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The date is set for Tom Izzo’s first ever trip to Knoxville as Michigan State’s head basketball coach. His Spartans will play a game against Tennessee on Nov. 17.
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Tip time and broadcast information will be released at a later date. The game is the opener of a home-and-home series that will include a return trip to Breslin Center in 2027-28.
Michigan State’s trip to Tennessee is part of a strong schedule that should have them battle-tested by January. The Spartans will also face Duke at Chicago's United Center for the Champion's Classic on Nov. 10 and Arkansas at Little Caesars Arena on Thanksgiving. Michigan State also squares up against Gonzaga in the Acrisure Series at Palm Desert, Calif., on Dec. 19. All four of those teams are ranked in the bulk of the preseason polls.
All that preparation may be a benefit to Michigan State, an expected Final Four contender. The Spartans (27-8 last season) built a deep lineup this offseason mostly made up of returners from last season’s Sweet 16 run, plus a top-10 recruiting class and an impact transfer in former Charlotte center Anton Bonke. Jeremy Fears Jr. returns for his redshirt junior year having led Michigan State in scoring (15.2 points) and the nation in assists per game (9.4). He is a projected preseason All-American, statistically the top returning point guard in Division I.
The trip to Tennessee is the first for Izzo as head coach — he went as an assistant Dec. 21, 1993, with Jud Heathcote as head coach for a 69-60 win. Michigan State owns a 5-2 all-time record against the Volunteers dating back to 1939, with the last official meeting a 70-69 win for MSU in the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Izzo hosted Tennessee for a charity exhibition in 2023, a narrow 89-88 loss after an 18-point comeback.
Last season, Tennessee (25-12) made its third straight Elite Eight but lost to eventual national champion Michigan, 95-62.
Izzo is 6-4 all-time against Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, 1-0 since Barnes joined Tennessee, and 5-4 when Barnes coached Texas. Izzo’s Spartans took on Texas seven times in the eight seasons between 2006-14, and Michigan State won five of those meetings.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Date set for Michigan State-Tennessee basketball clash in Knoxville