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In a recent press release, Michigan State has officially announced its 2015-16 non-conference schedule. The Spartans faced some major non-conference opponents last season including Duke, Kansas, and Notre Dame and are set to add some other top matchups for next season.
Though some of the teams on Michigan State's schedule have question marks at this point, there are a lot of major opponents with huge names and some major home games including Louisville at home as part of the 2015 Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It's a stacked slate for a team coming off a Final Four appearance and looking to continue its great success over the last few seasons.
Here is the full non-conference schedule.
2015-16 Michigan State Non-Conference Schedule:
- Nov. 4 -- Northern Michigan (Exhibition)
- Nov. 9 -- Ferris State (Exhibition)
- Nov. 13 -- Florida Atlantic
- Nov. 17 -- vs Kansas (Champions Classic)
- Nov. 20 -- Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Nov. 23 -- Eastern Michigan (Wooden Legacy)
- Nov. 26 -- vs Boston College (Wooden Legacy)
- Nov. 27 -- vs UC-Irvin/Boise State (Wooden Legacy)
- Nov. 29 -- vs Evansville/Providence/Santa Clara/Arizona (Wooden Legacy)
- Dec. 2 -- Louisville
- Dec. 5 -- Binghamton
- Dec. 9 -- Maryland Eastern Shore
- Dec. 12 -- Florida
- Dec. 29 -- Northeastern
- Dec. 22 -- vs Oakland
The Spartans are set to have some major challenges in non-conference play and if certain things shake out for Florida and in the Wooden Legacy, they could see even more quality opponents. To start, the Champions Classic also features a major challenge and this year will be no different with Kansas. On top of that, with a home game against Louisville, the Spartans already have two major non-conference games and as mentioned, if Florida can improve on last year and MSU gets slated to face Arizona, there could be a handful of resume boosting games on the slate.
The Spartans are looking to build off their Final Four last year and though it could prove difficult with the loss of Branden Dawson and Travis Trice, they have plenty of opportunities early in the season that could allow the team to get off to a great start.