It appears Michigan State will once again have a loaded non-conference schedule next season.
Head coach Tom Izzo has historically tested his squad with a tough non-conference schedule and next year appears to be no different based on comments from an interview on Tuesday. Izzo said on “The Audrey Dahlgren Show” that the Spartans “may have” match-ups with Duke and Villanova this next season — with the game against the Blue Devils being at home.
Here’s a pair of tweets from MLive’s Kyle Austin with more insight on Izzo’s comments:
Duke agreed to play a future game at Breslin in return for MSU going to Cameron for last year's Champions Classic game. Not sure if it'll be ACC/Big Ten challenge game or not
— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) May 25, 2021
As pointed out by Austin in the tweets above, it would make sense for the Spartans to play Duke at home as part of their trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium last year. Whether that’s part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, though, is unknown.
The Spartans’ match-up with Villanova as part of the Gavitt Games would also make a ton of sense. Michigan State played at Seton Hall two years ago in their last Gavitt Games match-up so that could suggest the Wildcats would also come to the Breslin Center this year.
Michigan State is already scheduled to play Kansas in the Champions Classic this season and will participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis — which includes Baylor, UConn, Syracuse, Arizona State, Auburn, Loyola Chicago and VCU. So it’s safe to say the Spartans will have a loaded non-conference slate if Duke and Villanova are in fact added to the schedule this year.
Keep an eye out for a more formal announcement on the 2021-22 schedule, but Michigan State fans should definitely be excited about what this upcoming season’s slate will feature.
