REPORT: Michigan State to host Butler in 2023 Gavitt Games
Michigan State men's basketball's 2023-24 non-conference schedule continues to take shape.
On Monday, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that various matchups for the 2023 Gavitt Games — which features teams out of the Big Ten and Big East conferences — had been set. The list includes Michigan State, who is set to host the Butler Bulldogs.
A tough non-conference schedule has been a staple of Michigan State men's basketball throughout head coach Tom Izzo's nearly 30-year career leading the program. Should the game against Butler be confirmed, the Spartans would be up to four solidified out of conference opponents including Duke in the Champions Classic, a neutral site game against Arizona on Thanksgiving Day, and the annual home tilt against Oakland.
The Blue Devils, Wildcats and Bulldogs would offer multiple exciting early-season opponents for Michigan State. Duke may potentially open the season as the nation's No. 1 team after leading scorer Kyle Filipowski spurned the NBA Draft for a second college season. Arizona is coming off a 28-7 season, which earned the Wildcats a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Butler, meanwhile, is the new home of MSU transfer wing Pierre Brooks, who entered the transfer portal after the Spartans were ousted by Kansas State in the 'Sweet Sixteen' of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Brooks committed to the Bulldogs on Easter Sunday. Butler is coming off a 14-18 record in its first season under new head coach Thad Matta, who formerly coached at Ohio State. While the Bulldogs are well known for playing Cinderella in the NCAA Tournament, Butler has not made an appearance in the Big Dance since 2018.
Michigan State is among several preseason favorites to compete for the national championship in 2023-24.
The Spartans are listed alongside some of the top teams in the country in various 'Way-Too-Early' Top 25 rankings from multiple publications. The Spartans' outlook has only improved after fifth-year seniors Tyson Walker and Malik Hall announced their intent to return to MSU. Point guard A.J. Hoggard and shooting guard Jaden Akins each submitted their names into the 2023 NBA Draft, but have until June 1 to withdraw their names and maintain their college eligibility.
Izzo admitted that his non-conference schedule last season was harder on his team than anticipated, due to the travel requirements of two trips to the West Coast and a lack of sufficient days off. Early-season injuries to both Akins and Hall exasperated those issues as well.
“The problem with last year’s schedule wasn’t the toughness of the teams we played, it was the way it was laid out for me,” Izzo said. “That was the problem. I’d play the same schedule no problem, I’d just like to have a day in between.”
Michigan State gained some schedule flexibility after the Big Ten/ACC challenge ended after last season, and that flexibility will only grow a year from now, as this is the Big Ten's final year in which it is contractually tied to the Gavitt Games. Now, that the Spartans have learned that Butler is on their schedule, Izzo and athletic director Alan Haller can move forward in completing the non-conference slate.
Michigan State should benefit from added depth for the 2023-24 season, Izzo currently has 12 scholarship players on the roster. MSU had just 10 scholarship players on the roster this past season. MSU will add the nation's No. 3 recruiting class in 2023, which includes five-star power forward Xavier Booker, five-star point guard Jeremy Fears, four-star small forward Coen Carr and four-star small forward Gehrig Normand.
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