Michigan State to play East Carolina at Fort Myers Tip-Off; Beach Division field confirmed
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Another one of Michigan State’s non-conference opponents has been revealed.
The Spartans will take on East Carolina as part of the eighth annual Fort Myers Tip-Off, an early-season college basketball event that takes place during Thanksgiving week at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Fla.
The addition of East Carolina solidifies the four-team field for the Beach Division portion of the event. North Carolina and St. Bonaventure join Michigan State and East Carolina in the division.
Michigan State and East Carolina will play on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Two days later, on Thanksgiving Day, the Spartans will take on North Carolina.
North Carolina and St. Bonaventure will play in the other Tuesday game, while the Bonnies and Pirates will match up in the other Thursday game. Tip times have yet to be revealed. The FOX Sports family of networks will broadcast each game.
Michigan State’s game against East Carolina will mark the first meeting between the programs. The Pirates, under the guidance of third-year head coach Michael Schwartz, finished last season with a 19-14 record (10-8 in the American Athletic Conference, good for a sixth-place finish). Their season ended with a 94-77 loss to No. 3-seed Alabama-Birmingham in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament.
Michigan State and North Carolina will meet for the 18th time. The Tar Heels finished fifth in the ACC last season, with a 23-14 (13-7) record in head coach Hubert Davis’ fourth year in charge. North Carolina fell to No. 1-seed Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tournament before losing to No. 6-seed Mississippi in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament.
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Michigan State finished the 2024-25 season with a 30-7 (17-3) record. The Spartans won the Big Ten championship before falling to No. 5-seed Wisconsin in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Michigan State then advanced to the Elite Eight, where they fell to No. 1-seed Auburn.
What else do we know about Michigan State’s 2025-26 schedule?
Michigan State is also set to play Duke at the Breslin Center this December, a matchup that will complete a home-and-home series that began with a 2020 Champions Classic meeting at Cameron Indoor Stadium. An official date has yet to be announced.
Michigan State will meet Kentucky at the 2025 Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Spartans and Wildcats will play on Nov. 18.
Michigan State will play Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Northwestern, Ohio State, UCLA and USC at the Breslin Center during the 2025-26 Big Ten season. The Spartans will travel to play Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Washington and Wisconsin. Tom Izzo’s team will play Indiana, Michigan and Rutgers once at home and once on the road.
