Why MSU's Thanksgiving Battle vs. Arkansas Will Be Blockbuster
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Michigan State basketball is making it a new tradition to play on Thanksgiving.
On Wednesday, the Spartans officially announced they would face Arkansas the evening of the holiday at 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS at Little Caesars Arena, right after the annual Detroit Lions Thanksgiving game, which will be against the Chicago Bears this year. This matchup will be huge for MSU for multiple reasons.
Massive TV Numbers
It's a very safe bet that this will be one of the most-watched regular-season games of the season in all of college basketball. Both Michigan State and Arkansas followed up Thanksgiving NFL games last season, and both programs received significant exposure.
MSU faced North Carolina immediately following the Lions' game last season on FOX. That game, which was in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, drew an average of 6.5 million viewers, the most-watched college basketball game the network had ever reported. The idea here is that a decent portion of the 47.7 million people watching Lions-Packers will decide to stay with FOX after seeing a premier college basketball matchup.
Arkansas wound up facing Duke last season and followed up the Dallas Cowboys' game on CBS. That game actually surprised Michigan State-UNC, with an average of 6.8 million people. MSU won its Thanksgiving game, 74-58; Duke took down Arkansas, 80-71, in Chicago.
Playing right after those Thanksgiving NFL games is a tried-and-true strategy to get eyeballs on a program. For additional reference, Michigan State's top-10 battle against Michigan at the Breslin Center drew 2.76 million viewers, a figure not considered disappointing.
MSU's clash against Arkansas in East Lansing last season averaged 1.7 million viewers. This rematch is likely set to either triple or potentially quadruple that number. This coming game against the Razorbacks will almost certainly be the Spartans' most-watched contest prior to March Madness.
Blue-Chip Matchup
Arkansas is an opponent with a ton of pull. John Calipari is still one of the biggest names in all of college basketball, as is Tom Izzo. Pitting those two coaches against each other means more eyes, which is exactly why CBS likely eyed this battle for its annual "Thanksgiving Classic."
There are plenty of expectations for the Razorbacks this season, even though they are losing their three best scorers from last season, including Darius Acuff Jr. -- he went seventh overall to the Sacramento Kings in the 2026 NBA Draft. Arkansas is mostly projected to be somewhere around that No. 12-15 range in the very early rankings right now, though it'll be a bit before the preseason AP Poll gets released.
Michigan State will have plenty of opportunities to make statements during its non-conference schedule; the Spartans will face Duke in Chicago on Nov. 10, and games against Gonzaga (neutral-site) and Tennessee (road) are also currently in the works. That huge projected television number only adds more pressure, though the quasi-home atmosphere will give MSU a boost.
Surprising Location
The surprising part is that Arkansas was willing to move the game. Michigan State was contractually obligated to play a true road game in Fayetteville during the 2026-27 season in the return game of MSU's and Arkansas' home-and-home agreement. All those additional eyes are likely enough to entice Calipari to agree to tweak that agreement, but the really surprising part is that he agreed to the game being in Detroit.
This means Calipari is trading in a true home game for what is basically a road game. It's tough to imagine a huge number of Arkansas fans hopping on flights to spend Thanksgiving in Detroit. Michigan State and Izzo like to play one game a year at LCA, often featuring their annual matchup with Oakland there. The Golden Grizzlies are currently slated to come to East Lansing this year, which also helped open up this possibility.
Arkansas will probably also ask MSU to travel to Fayetteville some other season. Giving Michigan State two games in the state of Michigan without forcing the Spartans to get on a plane at all wouldn't be the wisest deal for the Razorbacks. It could be as soon as the 2027-28 season, but programs sometimes hold onto the "return game" card for some time.
MSU just did that with Duke. The Spartans hosted the Blue Devils last season in what was considered a return game from when Michigan State went to Durham in 2020. Arkansas would deserve the "return game" even more than MSU did, since that trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Michigan State was played without fans and was technically for the Champions Classic.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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