Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball are gearing up for yet another season. As Izzo enters his 32nd season, he hasn't stopped having one of the toughest schedules possible. Obviously Izzo knows that he has to test his players against the best of the best.
With already so many tough games on the schedule, sometimes the lower level teams they end up scheduling to fill out the schedule get overlooked.
That wasn't the case today, as Michigan State’s official account announced the addition of two non-conference games this season.
🗓️ UPDATES:
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) August 11, 2026
11.02 vs Quinnipiac
12.29 vs Penn pic.twitter.com/bgCidiHBGx
Both games will be at the Breslin Center, the first coming on Nov. 2 against the Quinnipiac Bobcats out of the MAAC. The Bobcats went 19-13 last season, and isn't a stranger to kicking off a season on the road at a ranked foe. They did that just last season when they went to St. John's to open the 2025-26 season.
The Spartans also announced that they will take on the Penn Quakers on Dec. 29 to close out the holiday season. This matchup carries a lot of weight as it will be former Iowa head coach Fran McCaffrey's first return trip to East Lansing.
Michigan State has history with the new non-conference foes
McCaffrey has had some memorable moments against Izzo and the Spartans, whether they he upsetting Michigan State or if he was melting down like he did in the midst of a 2014 clash at the Breslin that I can fondly remember witnessing in person.
Michigan State and Penn have a history as the 1979 national champion Spartans defeated the Quakers in the Final Four to reach that title game against Larry Bird and Indiana State.
As for recent history with for the Spartans and Bobcats, it will be a first-time meeting for Michigan State and Quinnipiac. Michigan State is 3-1 all-time against Penn, with their last head-to-head coming in 2003. Both games should see the Spartans in a favorable place, but still you cannot count out anything in college basketball.
The addition of these two games brings the Spartans to six officially announced non-conference games. They’ll also clash with Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
It will be interesting to see how they fill the last of their non-conference games out. Likely a clash with Oakland is also on the table.
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