Michigan State basketball set to host Butler in Gavitt Games

Another November non-conference game is locked in place for Michigan State basketball. The Spartans are set to host Butler on Nov. 17 as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, an annual regular-season event pitting teams from the Big East against the Big Ten, the two leagues announced.

The game will be just the third meeting between MSU and Butler, with each program owning one head-to-head win. The Bulldogs prevailed over MSU in the 2010 Final Four, while the Spartans won handily at Hinkle Fieldhouse in 2021, another Gavitt Games contest.

MSU is unbeaten in the Gavitt Games, sitting at 3-0 after defeating Villanova at home last season. The Big Ten has had the upper hand in the event, too, going 3-1-3 against the Big East since the Gavitt Games began in 2015.

By drawing Butler, MSU will square off against former wing Pierre Brooks, who joined the Bulldogs as a transfer this offseason after two years as a Spartan. It’ll be the third year in a row Tom Izzo's program has competed against one of its former players, following Foster Loyer (Davidson) in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and Rocket Watts (Oakland) last season.

Butler is led by former Ohio State head coach Thad Matta, who went 14-18 last year in his first season coaching the Bulldogs.

MSU's other confirmed non-conference games are against Duke on Nov. 14 in the Champions Classic and against Arizona Nov. 23 in Palm Springs, California.

After reaching the Sweet 16 and finishing 21-13 last season, the Spartans are projected as one of the top teams in the country heading into 2023-24. They scored early offseason wins by retaining starting guard and leading scorer Tyson Walker and versatile forward Malik Hall, both of whom opted in to use their fifth years of eligibility. A pair of Spartans – guards AJ Hoggard and Jaden Akins – submitted their names to the NBA Draft pool while maintaining their NCAA eligibility, and both are considered likely to be back in East Lansing. While MSU does lose second-leading scorer Joey Hauser, he's the only departure from the primary playing rotation, and MSU is adding a four-man freshman class that ranked No. 4 nationally.

"I think with Tyson coming back and Malik coming back we got something to celebrate," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said in April at a season wrap-up press conference. "And I say that because, this day and age, you don't know who's coming back. And I guess you still don't. There’ll be a bunch of guys (across the country who) put their names in, I don't know if I'll have some – probably – that’ll put their name into the (NBA) Draft. I think that's the popular thing to do now. But I think in general we should have a pretty solid group coming back with a great group of recruits coming in. You put those two things together, and a lot of optimism for next season."

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