Michigan State basketball schedule released; Duke game set for 7 p.m.

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State released its full basketball schedule on Tuesday, with its game against Duke in the Champions Classic in Chicago slated for the early game at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

“We have a damn good schedule again with Duke early and we’ve got Arizona, Butler and Baylor and some other non-conference games against pretty good teams, including James Madison, and Oakland is always good,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said on Tuesday.

Other notables:

* Michigan State will play five games on Peacock, including its home game against Michigan at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30.

* Michigan State’s other games on Peacock will be at home against Wisconsin at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5, at home against Penn State at 7 p.m. on Jan. 4, at Minnesota at 9 p.m. on Feb. 6, and at home against Iowa at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20. 

* Michigan State’s game against Arizona at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 23 in Palm Springs, Calif. is on FOX.

* The Spartans’ exhibition game against Tennessee will be played at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29.

“That will be a good game, and we’re trying to figure out between (Tennessee coach) Rick (Barnes) and I, how we’re going to do it,” Izzo said. “You want to keep in mind that it’s an exhibition game. It gives people a chance to play, and then if the juices get flowing and you try to win the game then you don’t get the benefit (of player development).”

* Michigan State will play Big Ten favorite Purdue only once, at 8 p.m. on March 2 in West Lafayette, Ind., on FOX.

* The Spartans will play host to Butler at 6:30 p.m. on NOv. 17 on FS1.

* Michigan State will play Baylor at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on FOX.

COMP’S TAKE: Peacock continues to require an acclimation process for Michigan State fans and Big Ten fans. The football season was one uncomfortable step for some, and now the playing of the Michigan vs. Michigan State basketball game on a weeknight at 9 p.m. on a streaming service might be good for the NBC portion of the Big Ten television contract in terms of finances, but I’m the cranky old guy who doesn’t like obstacles it creates for some viewers.

I can’t say that this is a new thing. When I was in high school, I couldn’t watch Scott Skiles play against Michigan on a weeknight because the game was televised by PASS (Pro-Am Sports), the precursor to Fox Sports Detroit. My family didn’t subscribe to PASS. So I remember getting home from high school basketball practice and turning that game on the radio. That’s how ancient I am. Listening on the radio was great for the imagination, but many of us were accustomed to finding games on radio back then and dealing with it. Today, people won’t try to find it on the radio. They’ll find something else to do. Sure, most people have access to Peacock and it’s no problem for them. But many people do not, and there will be fewer people in the state of Michigan watching the Michigan State vs. Michigan basketball game this year on that night than has been the case in many years. 

The good news is that Michigan State is valued as a driver by NBC and its Peacock brand. Michigan State is playing five games on Peacock, with four of them played at Breslin Center. Michigan State home games look good on TV. That’s good for Peacock. But not so good for some Michigan State fans.

It continues to become harder to remain a fan. There are more obstacles, more expenses, more hoops to jump through, for fans. In this year’s case, Michigan State is good enough to hold interest and continue to grow through it. There will be other seasons in the future when that luxury won’t exist.