Tennessee basketball will host Tom Izzo and Michigan State at Food City Center in the 2026-27 season.
The Vols’ full schedule has not yet been released, but Tennessee coach Rick Barnes revealed the news to the Big Orange Caravan crowd in Nashville on April 29.
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The two programs haven’t played each other since meeting in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2010. The Spartans bested Bruce Pearl’s Tennessee with a 70-69 win. The Vols have a 2-5 record against Michigan State and are 1-2 against them in Knoxville.
Tennessee already has another tough Big Ten opponent on the schedule with a matchup at Purdue on Dec. 12 as part of a home-and-home series.
Rick Barnes comments on NCAA Tournament expansion
Beginning next season, both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments will expand to a 76-team field, increasing from the previous 64-team bracket.
“I haven’t thought anything about it,” Barnes said about the expansion. “I just think it’s got to happen in three weeks. I think you’ve got a three-week window there where we can capture the country. I think it’s the greatest sporting event … but I always thought too that, you can’t do away with the small-level schools, so this does still give everybody a chance to be a part of it.”
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Details for the women’s bracket have not yet been announced, but the new teams in the men’s tournament will be added to what was the First Four play-in.
Barnes doubts the teams in the expanded field can make a legitimate run to the national championship.
“My whole thing is, I don’t think you can ask a national championship team to play more than six games,” he said. “I think it’s hard for any of us to go through that. But if a team can get through that, they deserve to be the national champion.”
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball to host Michigan State in Knoxville in 2026-27 season
