Tennessee basketball will welcome Michigan State to Food City Center on Nov. 17, the school announced July 17.
The game time and TV channel will be announced at a later date.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes broke the news about scheduling his old friend Tom Izzo’s Spartans while on the Big Orange Caravan tour in April. The Vols agreed to a home-and-home series, beginning in the 2026-27 season.
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The date for their away game at Michigan State for 2027-28 has not been released.
Michigan State leads the series 5-2 with the first game in 1939. The teams last met in an exhibition game on Oct. 29, 2023, won by Tennessee at the Breslin Center, 89-88. The last official meeting also was won by Michigan State, 70-69, on March 28, 2010 in the Elite Eight in St. Louis.
Tennessee has been aggressive in scheduling tough opponents early in the season to prepare for the SEC. The Vols didn’t play a power conference opponent last season until matching up with Rutgers on Nov 24 in the Players Era 16 Festival.
They’ll face the Spartans a week before playing Maryland in the Las Vegas-based tournament on Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. ET. The winner of that game would face the winner of Iowa State-San Diego State.
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Tennessee’s other confirmed non-conference opponents include a home game against Florida State on Dec. 1 in the SEC/ACC Challenge, a neutral site match against Justin Gainey’s NC State at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Dec. 6 and a game at Purdue on Dec. 11.
The Vols’ notable SEC home games for the 2026-27 season include Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
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’s game vs. Michigan State revealed
