Arizona men’s basketball to face Michigan State on Thanksgiving, per report

Bit by bit, piece by piece, Arizona’s 2023-24 nonconference schedule is coming together. And it looks like it’s going to be a doozy.

Jason Scheer of Wildcat Authority is reporting that the Wildcats will face Michigan State in a neutral-site game on Thanksgiving (Nov. 23). The game will be played at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, Calif.

Michigan State is coming off a 2022-23 season in which it reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 7 seed, falling to Kansas State. The Spartans are expected to be a top-10 preseason team with the announced returns of wing Malik Hall and guard Tyson Walker.

The UA is 5-2 all-time against MSU, the last matchup coming on Veterans’ Day in 2016 when the Wildcats won 65-63 in Honolulu. Arizona is 3-2 against Spartans coach Tom Izzo, who will be in his 29th season with the Spartans.

Michigan State is the third marquee opponent on Arizona’s nonconference slate. The Wildcats visit Duke on Nov. 10 and will also face Alabama in Phoenix on Dec. 20. There’s also a trip to Southern as part of the Pac-12’s HBCU scheduling agreement with the SWAC.

Arizona had previously been slated to play in the Wooden Legacy in Los Angeles during Thanksgiving weekend but is no longer in that event.