Michigan State’s 2026-27 non-conference schedule now has another name that jumps out: Northern Iowa.
The Spartans announced the rest of their schedule Tuesday, and along with the already known exhibition dates against UConn on Oct. 20 and Marquette on Oct. 25, plus the surprise Incarnate Word exhibition during the Izzone Campout, the full slate brought a few more fresh opponents into view. Duke, Tennessee, Arkansas, Gonzaga and Oakland had already been on the list, but Tuesday’s release added Quinnipiac, Toledo, Detroit, Drake, Merrimack, Penn and Northern Iowa.
Northern Iowa is the one that stands out most, especially because the Panthers are coming off an NCAA Tournament trip. Michigan State will see them on Nov. 13 at the Breslin Center, right in between Duke and Tennessee. It’s also the first meeting between the programs since 2010, when the Spartans beat the Panthers in the NCAA Tournament.
A season ago, Northern Iowa earned a 12-seed in the Missouri Valley Conference and lost to St. John’s by 26 in the opening round. That alone makes the matchup notable, but the bigger reason this game has some bite is who Northern Iowa brings back.
The Panthers return eight of their top nine players in minutes per game, which is a big reason this doesn’t look like a routine mid-November tune-up. Their only major loss from last season is Trey Campbell, who led the team with 13.7 points per game. The rest of the core is back, including the other two double-digit scorers and eight players who logged at least 10 minutes per game.
Northern Iowa also added four transfers: former four-star small forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, who began at Miami before moving to St. Thomas, plus Carson Vis from Western Michigan, Ian Smikle from Tulsa and Tate McCubbin from Austin Peay.
That’s why this one has the feel of a potential trap for Michigan State. It’s not the kind of game the Spartans can sleepwalk through, especially with Duke and Tennessee surrounding it on the calendar. The Spartans need to stay sharp and avoid the kind of letdown that can sneak up in that spot.
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