Michigan State basketball is looking to add a game to the schedule next week.
Head coach Tom Izzo told reporters on Friday that he is hopeful MSU will be able to add a game to their schedule next week after this Wednesday’s game against Virginia was canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test amongst the Cavaliers. The game was originally announced as postponed, and while Izzo is still hopeful that game could be rescheduled, it doesn’t appear that will be the case for this season.
Tom Izzo says MSU will try to find another non-con game to play next week after the Virginia cancellation
— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) December 11, 2020
Izzo said MSU is working to find another opponent next week and would expect to need a “special exemption” from the school to schedule a new opponent during finals. That’s what he hopes to know in the next few days. https://t.co/C1MRNC8C9n
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 11, 2020
The Spartans’ next game is on Sunday against Oakland, and then they won’t return to the court until the following Sunday (Dec. 20) to begin Big Ten play at Northwestern. So a mid-week game would make sense for MSU to complete their seven-game non-conference slate.
There are no signs at this point of who MSU will look to play, but don’t be surprised if it’s another locally based team. Four of the Spartans’ six non-conference games have been against schools located in Michigan (Eastern Michigan, Detroit Mercy, Western Michigan and Oakland) so a team like Central Michigan is in play here.
MSU has also played Notre Dame of the ACC this year so maybe the Spartans could add a bigger-name program located in a bordering state as well (i.e. DePaul, Cincinnati, Butler, etc.).
