REPORT: Michigan State to play Baylor at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 16
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State basketball will reportedly add another marquee non-conference matchup to its 2023-24 schedule.
The Spartans are finalizing an agreement to play Baylor on Dec. 16 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. There is no timetable for an official announcement, per the report.
Michigan State is no stranger to playing at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the Detroit Pistons. The Spartans have played in-state foe Oakland there three times since the building opened in 2017. Michigan State also played two NCAA Tournament games there in 2018.
Baylor finished last season with an 85-76 Round of 32 loss to No. 6-seed Creighton in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears will be tasked with replacing four starters from last year’s 23-11 team, including their top-three leading scorers in Adam Flagler, Keyonte George and LJ Cryer. Starting center Flo Thamba also exhausted his eligibility after last season.
Baylor, however, will return starting forward Jalen Bridges – who averaged 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds on 50.6 percent shooting last season – as well as graduate forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and former four-star Langston Love.
The Bears will also bring in the No. 5 recruiting class, per the On3 Industry Rankings. The class is headlined by five-star guard Ja’Kobe Walter, who is the ninth-best player in the 2023 class, per On3. Baylor also landed top transfer point guard RayJ Dennis from Toledo. Dennis averaged 19.5 points and 5.8 assists with the Rockets last season.
Michigan State finished the 2022-23 season with a tight 98-93 loss to No. 3-seed Kansas State in the Sweet 16. The Spartans return all but starting forward Joey Hauser from last season’s playing group, and they will also bring in the No. 6 recruiting class, per the On3 Industry Rankings. Michigan State finished with a 21-13 record last season.
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Michigan State and Baylor last met in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game on Nov. 26, 2021, in Nassau, Bahamas. Head coach Scott Drew and the reigning national champion Bears beat Tom Izzo’s Spartans, 75-58, to claim the pre-season tournament title that day.
Five current Spartans – Malik Hall, A.J. Hoggard, Jaden Akins, Tyson Walker and Mady Sissoko – played in that game. Akins had one of the best games of his freshman season that day, scoring 12 points on 66 percent shooting in 18 minutes.
Prior to that, Michigan State played Baylor for the first time in program history in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Nov. 24, 2016. The No. 20 Bears beat the No. 24 Spartans, 73-58, to reach the title game of the tournament.
Michigan State has already confirmed non-conference games against Duke (Champions Classic in Chicago on Nov. 14), Butler (Gavitt Games in East Lansing on Nov. 17) and Arizona (Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., on Nov. 23) for the 2023-24 season. The Spartans are also set to play their annual game against Oakland this season.
