Michigan State basketball has 1 goal in exhibition with UConn

EAST LANSING – Of all the recent rules changes in college sports Tom Izzo has disliked, there is one he truly has embraced.

Playing anyone, anywhere at any time – and not having it count against his record with Michigan State basketball.

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For the second straight season, Izzo and the No. 6 Spartans will face Dan Hurley and No. 5 Connecticut in an exhibition game, with tipoff set for Breslin Center on Tuesday, Oct. 20 (7 p.m., BTN+).

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo and UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley react after the game in a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

POLL POSITIONS: Michigan State basketball No. 6, Michigan No. 20 in initial coaches poll

Last preseason, MSU went to Hartford, Connecticut, fell behind big and then rallied late in a 76-69 exhibition loss to UConn. But it wasn’t the only time they met; Hurley’s Huskies ended the Spartans’ season with a 67-63 win in the Sweet 16 on March 27 in Washington.

“Like last year, it’ll be a good test for us,” Izzo said Thursday, Oct. 15. “The problem now when you’re playing these big exhibition games is you have to figure out what exhibition games are really for – to see what you have, to see how your team improved, to see what guys fit with what guys, to mix up the lineups, see who’s improved – and get an idea.

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“The great thing for me is getting an idea against a team and a coach that I know pretty well. I know Danny real well. We’re both looking for the same thing – to see where our team’s at.”

Izzo said Hurley called him after MSU’s win over Arkansas in last year’s second regular-season game to give him some critique of what he saw during the exhibition game they played.

“We didn’t play very well out there last year, and he called me a couple weeks later after we had beaten Arkansas or somebody really good, and said, ‘God, I was worried for you,…

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Publish date : 2026-10-20 09:08:00

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