Rick Barnes revealed another non-conference game for Michigan State last week during an event that was sandwiched between recruiting stops for the Tennessee head coach.
The recruiting trips were to see Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris who was one of the top players in the portal and was projected as an early-second round NBA draft pick. Now, Harris is officially a Volunteer after committing to Tennessee on Monday afternoon.
Michigan State’s matchup with Tennessee just got way tougher.
I was already hyping Tennessee up before this Harris addition, saying that I could see the Volunteers as a top-10 team next season with all the scoring that they’re bringing in, but now I think they could even flirt with the top five. Michigan State is currently projected as a top-five caliber team and I think Tennessee is now in the same territory.
An already-tough matchup just got turned up a notch or two on the toughness scale.
Michigan State vs. Tennessee will be a Final Four preview
With what Barnes has added to his roster this offseason, I believe that the Volunteers are going to be Final Four contenders. They’re going to be a top-10 team to start the season, in my opinion, and the scoring that they’ve added this offseason (five guys who averaged 15-plus points in 2025-26) is going to make them difficult to beat in a potential track race.
Michigan State, on the other hand, returns just about everyone outside of Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper — for now — from a Sweet 16 team that went 27-8 last season.
The Spartans also have the nation’s best point guard, the best athlete, a great sophomore class, a key transfer returning from injury, a great freshman class, and a 7-foot-2 transfer. This will be one of Tom Izzo’s best rosters in the past decade and probably the best chance to make a Final Four since Cassius Winston was still wearing the green and white.
Not only will this be a potential Final Four preview between two legendary head coaches, but it’s also going to be a great early test for the Spartans in a hostile environment. That’s one of the best home-court advantages in college basketball and the Spartans have never played there. Barnes and Izzo always seem to have incredible matchups, so I’m expecting this non-conference battle to be an instant classic.
Doesn’t get much tougher than a road game against a top-10 Tennessee team.
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