Michigan State basketball releases 2024-25 conference schedule

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State’s 2024-25 basketball schedule is now complete.

The conference announced league schedules for each of its 18 teams on Thursday. Each team will play a 20-game conference schedule, which includes at least one game against the other 17 teams. Each team also has three two-play opponents. Michigan State’s two-play opponents are Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan. 

Michigan State will play two conference games in December before the rest of the conference schedule begins on Jan. 3, 2025. The Spartans will travel to Minnesota for their Big Ten opener on Dec. 4, while their second conference game that month will take place three days later, at home against Nebraska. 

The Spartans will open the new year with a trip to Ohio State on Jan. 3, 2025, followed by a home contest against Washington six days later. That game represents Michigan State’s first contest against one of the Big Ten’s four new teams. 

The Spartans’ next game against a league newcomer will take place on Feb. 1, 2025, when they travel to play USC. That’ss immediately followed by a road contest against UCLA on Feb. 4, 2025. Four days later, Michigan State will travel back to East Lansing to take on Oregon, the last of the league’s four new teams.

Michigan State will host at least one game against five of the six teams that finished ahead of it in last year’s Big Ten standings – Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Indiana. As one of Michigan State’s three two-play opponents, the Spartans will also have to travel to Illinois this season. The only top-six team from last season that Michigan State plays exclusively on the road is Northwestern. 

The Spartans will play six other teams exclusively on the road this season: Ohio State, Rutgers, USC, UCLA, Maryland and Iowa. CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein reported on Thursday that Michigan State’s game at Rutgers is expected to be played at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

On the other hand, Michigan State will play seven teams exclusively at home this season: Nebraska, Washington, Penn State, Oregon, Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin.

Michigan State’s senior day will take place on March 9, 2025 against Michigan. The Spartans and Wolverines will face off twice in the last five games of the season. 

Three of Michigan State’s last five games of the season are on the road. Four of its seven games in January will take place at home, while just three of its eight games in February will take place at the Breslin Center. 

Michigan State has two six-day breaks between games once the conference schedule resumes in January of next year – one between the Ohio State and Washington games from Jan. 3-9, 2025, and one between the Illinois and Rutgers games from Jan. 19-25, 2025. That’s the longest break Michigan State will have between games once the calendar flips.

Meanwhile, the Spartans have seven three-day breaks between conference games.

Below is Michigan State’s entire 2024-25 schedule, including non-conference opponents (times not listed are TBD):

• Sunday, Oct. 13 – at Northern Michigan (exhibition) – Marquette, Mich. (1 p.m.)
• Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Ferris State (exhibition) – East Lansing, Mich.
• Monday, Nov. 4 – Monmouth – East Lansing, Mich.
• Thursday, Nov. 7 – Niagara – East Lansing, Mich.
• Tuesday, Nov. 12 – Kansas (Champions Classic) – Atlanta, Ga. (6:30 p.m.)
• Saturday, Nov. 16 – Bowling Green – East Lansing, Mich.
• Tuesday, Nov. 19 – Samford – East Lansing, Mich.
• Monday, Nov. 25 – Colorado (Maui Invitational) – Maui, Hawaii (5 p.m.)
• Tuesday, Nov. 26 – UConn/Memphis (Maui Invitational) – Maui, Hawaii
• Wednesday, Nov. 27 – North Carolina/Dayton/Iowa State/Auburn (Maui Invitational) – Maui, Hawaii
• Wednesday, Dec. 4 – at Minnesota – Minneapolis, Minn.
• Saturday, Dec. 7 – Nebraska – East Lansing, Mich.
• Tuesday, Dec. 17 – Oakland – Detroit, Mich.
• Saturday, Dec. 21 – Florida Atlantic – East Lansing, Mich.
• Monday, Dec. 30 – Western Michigan – East Lansing, Mich.
• Friday, Jan. 3 – at Ohio State – Columbus, Ohio
• Thursday, Jan. 9 – Washington – East Lansing, Mich.
• Sunday, Jan. 12 – at Northwestern – Evanston, Ill.
• Wednesday, Jan. 15 – Penn State – East Lansing, Mich.
• Sunday, Jan. 19 – Illinois – East Lansing, Mich.
• Saturday, Jan. 25 – at Rutgers – TBD
• Tuesday, Jan. 28 – Minnesota – East Lansing, Mich.
• Saturday, Feb. 1 – at USC – Los Angeles, Calif.
• Tuesday, Feb. 4- at UCLA – Los Angeles, Calif.
• Saturday, Feb. 8 – Oregon – East Lansing, Mich.
• Tuesday, Feb. 11 – Indiana – East Lansing, Mich.
• Saturday, Feb. 15 – at Illinois – Champaign, Ill.
• Tuesday, Feb. 18 – Purdue – East Lansing, Mich.
• Friday, Feb. 21 – at Michigan – Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Wednesday, Feb. 26 – at Maryland – College Park, Md.
• Sunday, March 2 – Wisconsin – East Lansing, Mich.
• Thursday, March 6 – at Iowa – Iowa City, Iowa
• Sunday, March 9 – Michigan – East Lansing, Mich.
• Wed.-Sun., March 12-16 – Big Ten Tournament – Indianapolis, Ind.