MICHIGAN STATE TO PLAY UCLA IN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL

East Lansing, Mich. -  #11 Michigan State’s men’s basketball team will play UCLA in the 18th annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday, Nov. 22 at Orleans Arena. Tipoff is slated for 10 p.m. (ET) on FS1.

The other third round matchup of the Las Vegas Invitational features North Carolina playing Texas at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

The championship round will be held on Friday, Nov. 23 at Orleans Arena and air on FOX. The loser of the UCLA-Michigan State game will square off against the loser of the North Carolina-Texas game at 4 p.m. (ET), with the championship game airing at 6:30 p.m. (ET).

This will be the first appearance in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational for the Spartans.

The matchup with UCLA will mark the ninth all-time meetingbetween the programs, with the Bruins leading the all-time series, 6-2. In the last meeting between the teams, UCLA posted a 78-76 win in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Tampa, Fla.

The Spartans have had success in Thanksgiving weekend tournaments in recent years, capturing three preseason titles in the last five years. In November 2017, the Spartans defeated North Carolina, 63-45, in the PK80 Phil Knight Invitational finale in Portland. The Spartans previously won the 2013 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn and the 2015 Wooden Legacy.

Always one of the top early season tournaments of the college basketball season, past champions of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational include Illinois (2005), Kansas (2006 and 2010), North Carolina (2007), Kentucky (2008) and Oklahoma State (2009).

Each team will play four games in the Invitational – the first two at on-campus sites and the final two rounds at the Orleans Arena November 22-23. Hosting more than 200 events each year, Orleans Arena is located just west of the Las Vegas strip and was recently named the No. 1 mid-size arena in the USA by Venues Today magazine.