Looking Ahead to MSU's Thanksgiving Meeting vs. Arkansas

The Spartans are going to be in action again this Thanksgiving.

Arkansas coach John Calipari reacts to a call during the first half of the SEC tournament championship game against Vanderbilt at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, March 15, 2026. | DENNY SIMMONS / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan State basketball is starting to make it a habit to play on Thanksgiving.

Tom Izzo announced a few months ago that the Spartans are currently planning to face Arkansas on the final Thursday of November 2026 -- Nov. 26, to be exact.

Michigan State's coach Tom Izzo, left, and Arkansas' head coach John Calipari meet before the game on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The choice came as a bit of a surprise, since MSU was supposed to play at Arkansas at some point during the 2026-27 non-conference schedule after hosting last season (a 69-66 Michigan State victory). Instead, the game will be moved to Detroit and Little Caesars Arena, and the Spartans will have to make their return trip to Fayetteville at a later date.

The Razorbacks are essentially accepting an additional road game against Michigan State. There is a reason for that, during what should be another juicy non-conference matchup on MSU's plate.

Big-Time Attention

Michigan State's Tom Izzo walks in with his staff against Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Thanksgiving games are usually the most-watched college basketball games during the regular season. The plan is for MSU-Arkansas to follow the Detroit Lions game, which will be going on down the street, with tip-off at 4:30 or 5 p.m. ET (the Lions kick off at 1 p.m.). Everyone hopes fans, especially those in Michigan, will see the game and opt to stay with (probably) CBS.

The game won't do the approximately 40+ million viewers the Lions will get, but the strategy has worked in the past for both programs in this game. Michigan State-North Carolina followed up the NFL last season and averaged 6.5 million viewers. Arkansas followed up its Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys with a game against Duke; that game averaged 6.8 million viewers and was the most-watched regular-season game since 1993.

Where Arkansas Stands

Mar 21, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Meleek Thomas (1) drives against High Point Panthers guard Chase Johnston (99) in the first half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Arkansas' John Calipari has been a bit more receptive to the new era of college basketball than Izzo has, at least in how much his roster changes year-over-year. There is a chance the Razorbacks only have two scholarship players back next season, and one of them redshirted last season. The biggest departure is Darius Acuff Jr., who averaged 23.5 points and 6.4 assists per game last season and is a presumptive top-10 pick in this year's NBA Draft.

Two other Arkansas players have their names in the NBA Draft, but could withdraw. Guard Meleek Thomas averaged 15.6 points per game last season and is currently ranked No. 29 overall in the class by ESPN. Forward Billy Richmond is also mulling his decision after averaging 11.2 points per game -- he's ranked 53rd overall in the class by ESPN.

Mar 25, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks forward Billy Richmond III (24) looks on during a practice session ahead of the west regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Signs still point to the Razorbacks being a high-quality foe next season. ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected Arkansas to be a 2-seed in a recent preseason bracket projection. There is a very realistic chance that both the Spartans and the Razorbacks are ranked inside the top 10 on Thanksgiving.