Michigan State basketball held its first practice of the fall on Monday, and Spartan fans could barely contain their excitement. This excitement usually builds after the first football loss of the season.
The fact that the football team is on its bye week also helps with the excitement levels as the Spartans are gearing up for what should be an exciting 2025-26 season. They will have to defend their Big Ten title crown, and that won't be easy with teams like Purdue, Michigan, and UCLA pushing for spots in the top 10 nationally.
Michigan State is the reigning conference champion, but somehow the Spartans are still being overlooked as media outlets like Sleepers have curated a preseason Top 25, but left last year's Big Ten champs off the list.
We'll know fairly early on if this team is a contender with a gauntlet of a non-conference slate.
One of the first major non-conference games of the season will take place on Nov. 18 as the Spartans will head to New York City to face Kentucky at Madison Square Garden.
On Tuesday, the tip-off time for the Champions Classic was officially announced.
Game time is set for the Champions Classic 🏙️ pic.twitter.com/Bx2ZKUUytf
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) September 23, 2025
It feels like Michigan State gets the early game more often than not, and that's not the worst thing in the world. Spartan fans won't have to stay up late to watch their favorite team take the court against a ranked Kentucky squad. They'll get to come home from work, have dinner, and then turn the game on with that 6:30 p.m. ET tip.
Can't complain about that. Maybe the basketball team will have better luck with start times than the football team has had thus far. We can only hope.