Michigan State’s men’s basketball team will play an exhibition game at Connecticut on Oct. 28, the school announced Thursday.
The game will be part of a home-and-home exhibition series, with UConn playing at MSU next year. The location of this season’s game, be it on Connecticut’s campus in Storrs or in Hartford, is yet to be announced. Same for any television or streaming broadcast of the exhibition.
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This is the first year the NCAA is allowing for such games between Division I teams without a waiver. Previously, preseason matchups like these were either closed scrimmages or required special permission, like when Tennessee played at Breslin Center in 2023, with proceeds benefiting Maui wildfire relief efforts. MSU had played at Tennessee in 2022 in a closed scrimmage.
The idea behind these exhibitions is that teams and coaches get a dry run against high-level competition under the bright lights without the consequences of winning and losing, making them more prepared for early season marquee matchups like the Champions Classic. MSU’s regular season non-conference schedule includes high-profile dates against Kentucky (Champions Classic, Nov. 18 in New York), North Carolina (Nov. 27 in Fort Myers, Florida), Duke (at home on Dec. 6) and Arkansas (home, TBA).
UConn and MSU have played some memorable games throughout Tom Izzo’s time as the Spartans’ head coach. Most recently they met in the 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, with MSU winning 64-60. More significantly, the Huskies beat the Spartans in the 2014 NCAA tournament East Regional Final in New York.
Five years earlier, MSU beat UConn in the 2009 Final Four in Detroit.
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The last time MSU and UConn played on each other’s home courts was early in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 season, with each team winning at home — and with each winning team going on to win the national championship in those seasons.
UConn has been a power in recent years under Dan Hurley, winning back to back national titles in 2023 and 2024, before falling in the second round of the NCAA tournament this past spring.
MSU has had some memorable games against UConn, including in the 2009 Final Four in Detroit.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU basketball to play at UConn in exhibition as part of 2-year series
