Tom Izzo’s quest for a second national title unofficially begins on Tuesday with a huge Michigan State vs UConn showdown at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
The exhibition matchup pins two top-six teams against each other and these two actually met seven months ago in the Sweet 16 and UConn held off a furious Spartan comeback. Before that, Michigan State and UConn met in exhibition play a year ago down in Connecticut.
The return trip is going to be even more hotly-contested as this Michigan State team should be much better and UConn will likely be improved, too — a scary thought considering the Huskies made the title game in April.
Tuesday’s top-six showdown is going to have the feel of a Final Four game because the Breslin is going to be rocking and it’s the first real chance to see what the ceiling of this team is.
It will be must-see TV.
And here’s how you can watch:
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 20
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Breslin Center
TV/Live Stream: Big Ten+
The Spartans and Huskies will unfortunately be playing on BTN+ on Tuesday night so it’ll be a paid watch. No one likes to pay to watch exhibition basketball but if it’s a top-six matchup that could be a Final Four or national title game preview, how could you pass that up in the middle of a horrendous football season?
A few bucks may be a mental health fix even if just for a night.
Is Michigan State ready for the spotlight?
Michigan State really struggled with UConn last season both in exhibition play and in the NCAA Tournament and it showed Tom Izzo had some serious offseason work to do.
The Spartans weren’t quite where they needed to be in order to contend for a national title and Izzo found that out the hard way in the Sweet 16. Fortunately, he has his most loaded roster in a decade and many believe that he has the team that could win him his second national title.
The last time the Spartans were this hyped up before the season was back in 2023-24 and Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard’s team struggled big-time on and folded under the early spotlight. Michigan State fans are still having nightmares about the start to that season which began with a James Madison loss.
Is Michigan State ready for the spotlight? We’ll find out tonight.
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