Michigan State’s non-conference schedule just got a little more dangerous.
Tom Izzo has added Drake to the Spartans’ slate for December 5, a game that lands between Arkansas and Merrimack and gives Michigan State its eighth non-conference matchup currently on the books. With last season’s regular-season schedule featuring 11 non-conference games, more additions still seem likely, including the annual Christmas Sweater game against Oakland.
Drake is no soft landing. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons and have now won their second tournament game since 1971.
Last year, they entered the bracket as an 11-seed and knocked off No. 6 Missouri, 67-57, before falling to No.
3 Texas Tech in the second round.
That run was powered by Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Bennett Stirtz, who eventually turned that season into a first-round NBA Draft selection, going No. 16 overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder. That kind of production is exactly why Drake stands out on Michigan State’s schedule.
There’s also a bigger-picture reason this game fits Izzo’s approach. He has long leaned into tough early-season tests, using the non-conference slate to prepare his teams for Big Ten play.
That doesn’t only mean heavyweight names like UConn or Duke. Programs like Merrimack and Drake can still bring real problems, especially when they see Michigan State on the schedule and come in hungry.
Drake also carries the look of a team Michigan State could see again if things break the right way in March. If the Bulldogs keep rolling in the Missouri Valley Conference, a bracket matchup wouldn’t be out of the question.
Michigan State’s current schedule includes two exhibition games and nine dates listed so far:
10/20 - (E) UConn
10/25 - (E) Marquette
11/2 - Quinnipiac
11/17 - @ Tennessee
11/26 - Arkansas (Detroit)
12/5 - Drake
12/12 - Merrimack
12/19 - Gonzaga (California)
12/29 - Penn
With a few more games still to be announced, the Spartans’ non-conference slate is shaping up exactly the way Izzo tends to like it: packed with tests.
In Other News...
Tom Izzo May Have Just Moved Ahead For A Huge 2027 Target
Michigan State used a recent recruiting weekend to put two of its top 2027 targets in front of Tom Izzo and his staff, welcoming five-star point guard Antonio Pemberton and four-star center Jaydn Jenkins to campus. The timing mattered, too, with the Spartans continuing to lean into early evaluation and relationship-building as they try to position themselves well for a class that is still taking shape.
Now there is real momentum to monitor with Pemberton, the No. 23 overall prospect in the 2027 class. A report from Joe Tipton suggests Michigan State has emerged as the favorite for the top-25 recruit, a sign that the Spartans may have moved ahead in a recruitment that still has room to evolve. For a program that has long sold player development and trust, landing in front this early is the kind of progress Izzo wants to see. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Pretzlaff Just Took On A Bigger Michigan State Role
Michigan State is off to a 2-0 start in its first season under Pat Fitzgerald, and the latest win came with a familiar test for a defense trying to establish its identity early. In a 35-7 victory over Eastern Michigan at Spartan Stadium, the Spartans got another strong team showing, but the day also created room for a different voice to emerge when the defense needed one.
With Jordan Hall unavailable, redshirt sophomore Brady Pretzlaff handled a larger responsibility and spoke afterward about stepping into the moment, the standards Michigan State expects on defense and how much it means just to be back on the field. For a program still settling in under a new coach, that kind of growth matters almost as much as the scoreboard, especially when the next stretch will ask even more from the players now carrying the load. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Counting On Anton Bonke To Silence One Doubt
Michigan States interior picture is taking shape around Anton Bonke, the 7-foot-2 transfer from Charlotte who is expected to step in as the starting center after Carson Cooper. Tom Izzo has shown plenty of confidence in Bonke, and the Spartans are banking on the blend of size, development and continuity that has long been part of the programs identity. Bonke is also expected to help ease the transition for incoming freshman Ethan Taylor, which adds another layer to why his role matters so much early.
Still, there is a bit of outside skepticism attached to the assignment. College Basketball Report left Bonke off its Top 30 centers in college basketball, even as several Big Ten big men earned spots on the list, underscoring how much Michigan State is asking him to prove right away. For a program that tends to trust its own developmental track, Bonkes season will be about more than simply filling minutes in the middle. [Read more 🡒]