Plans in place for 4-team basketball trip in 2018

DETROIT (AP) -- Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis says the Spartans will join North Carolina, Texas and Florida in December 2018 for a coast-to-coast basketball event that will include games in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The games are expected to take place Dec. 15, 18 and 22 at Madison Square Garden, United Center and Staples Center. Teams will fly together between cities, taking part in various cultural activities along the way. Hollis says each school has agreed to participate, and the event will take place after finals for all of them, so it won't interfere much with academics.

Michigan State has been part of some innovative ideas in the past, including a 2011 game against North Carolina on an aircraft carrier.