We're still still far from the official Michigan official basketball schedule, but who says we can't start pieced together what we already know about Slate next year?
Unlike football, college basketball games are usually established between seasons, with pre-planned games only a few years ago included in the case file. Most of Michigan State's non-conference slates are still under construction, which is no different, but we at least know there are some monster showdowns on next year's slate.
That being said, let's dive into the 2025-26 Michigan basketball schedule we already know as we start moving forward next year:
opponent: Kentucky
date: November 18
The annual championship classic will continue next year, with the Spartans drawing Kentucky in the early season matchup of Marquee. The Wildcats are widely regarded as the top ten preseason, and the Spartans are 15-20 depending on media channels. So, for both plans with aspirations to reach the 2026 finals, it should be an interesting early test.
opponent: North Carolina, identified team
date: November 25 and 27
The Spartans will be playing two games in the Thanksgiving week as part of the Fort Myers tip event. It has been announced that Michigan State will face North Carolina on Thanksgiving and we are still waiting for who the Spaniards will play in the game before Tuesday.
date: It was reported that sometime in December
The Spartans will host the Duke Blue Devils in a non-conference monster showdown at the Breslin Center. The showdown has not been officially announced, so the date remains to be determined. But Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported last week that it will take place in December and will serve as a return trip to East Lansing, Michigan.
The official top ten schedule will be released in the coming months, but last week we had at least signs that Michigan State will announce its every conference game on the official family road. This shows who the Spartans will host at home, play on the road and play at home:
Family Only:
Leave only:
Home and Outside:
The Top Ten Slates include 20 regular season games, usually starting in December, with several games played before the holiday break. My assumption is that this year will continue again, with the conference competition running through the first week of March.
date: March 11-15
The top 15 teams of the Big Ten are eligible for conference tournaments, so technically this is not what the Spartans will play in the game, but we can assume here. The conference tournament will be held next season at the Chicago United Center.
As we know now, the Spartans have 24 of 24 of 31 regular season games next year. This means we should expect to add at least seven non-conference games to the slate.
In-state enemies Oakland are usually in the Spartans' roster and should be expected again this year. I also want the Spartans to add another election showdown to the non-conference game, going with three monsters they already lined up at Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke.
In the coming months, we should be given better instructions and coverage that the Spartans have also added a 2025-26 timeline. But for now, there should be a lot of fun and fun games throughout the season.
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