Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Announces 2000-01 Schedule
8/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 1, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University announced the 2000-01 schedule for its defending national champion men's basketball team on Tuesday. This year's slate will feature 16 home games, the most regular season contests at the Breslin Center since the 1996-97 season. The Spartans have won 28-consecutive games at the Breslin Center, the second-longest active streak in the nation.
Not only will Spartan fans get to see MSU 16 times at home, but they will also see them compete against some of the best teams in the nation. On top of an always difficult Big Ten schedule, the Spartans will play host to North Carolina, Kentucky and Florida during the non-conference portion of the schedule. Michigan State will square off against the other three 2000 Final Four participants, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida, in the Breslin Center this season.
Basketball fans across the nation will also get many opportunities to see Michigan State as the Spartans will make at least 12 appearances on national television throughout the season, including six games on ESPN, five contests on CBS and one on espn2. Two Big Ten contests will be shown on the ESPN Plus Regional package with two more airing as part of the ESPN Plus Local package. Michigan State could make two more appearances on national television as ESPN holds an option on the Indiana game on Feb. 20 and CBS has an option on the regular-season finale with Michigan on March 4.
In keeping with a recent trend, the Spartans will play one of the more difficult schedules in the nation. Nine MSU opponents earned a berth in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, including Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, Purdue, Seton Hall and Wisconsin. Three more teams, Bowling Green, Michigan and Penn State, participated in the National Invitation Tournament. In addition, six schools were ranked in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, including No. 2 Florida, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 15 Purdue, No. 16 Wisconsin, No. 17 Ohio State and No. 22 Kentucky.
Head coach Tom Izzo is looking forward to the challenge presented by this season's schedule.
"Once again, I think we have one of the top schedules in the country," said Izzo. "I'm especially looking forward to our home games. The Breslin Center has been a special place over the last two seasons and that has a lot to do with the fans we have here. I think by bringing in teams like this, it does nothing but create more hysteria.
"It's been one of my goals since I first became head coach to bring in top-notch talent to East Lansing. I think our season-ticket holders, our fans and our community deserve that, as do our players. Bringing in teams like Florida, North Carolina and Kentucky and playing a team like Seton Hall in New Jersey is a big step in helping us gain the reputation of a team that will play anybody, anywhere, anytime."
The Spartan players are equally excited about the schedule.
"It's not going to be an easy road for us, but as a team we want to play the best," said senior guard Charlie Bell. "We believe we have another very good team and night in and night out, we want to showcase our skills against the top teams. Coach Izzo has done a great job of getting teams like Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky and Seton Hall on the schedule and getting them to come to East Lansing. Now the players have to go out and take care of business.
"Playing a difficult schedule like this one only helps our team when it becomes tournament time. These are the same teams that we will see in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four. Playing these teams early allows us to find out what we need to work on and helps us prepare for another championship season."
Michigan State's exhibition contests will take on a different look this season. On Nov. 7, the Spartans will play host to Division II Northern Michigan as MSU head coach Tom Izzo squares off against his alma mater. Five days later, Michigan State will become the first college team to play a competitive game with the Harlem Globetrotters since the early 1950s.
The Spartans will open the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 19 when they host Oakland University in the Breslin Center. The following weekend (Nov. 24-25) they will host the Coca-Cola Spartan Classic featuring Cornell, Eastern Washington and Bradley. Michigan State has won four-straight Spartan Classics and 10 of the last 11.
Michigan State's first national television appearance will be Wednesday, Nov. 29 when North Carolina comes to town for a 7:30 espn2 broadcast as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Last season, MSU defeated UNC, 86-76, in Chapel Hill, handing the Tar Heels their first loss in a home opener since 1928. North Carolina returns four of five starters from last year's Final Four squad.
After a Dec. 2 home game with Illinois-Chicago, the Spartans will once again welcome a Final Four team to the Breslin Center. This time, Florida and Michigan State will face off in a rematch of the 2000 NCAA Championship game, an 89-76 Spartan victory. ESPN will televise the game at 7 p.m.
Michigan State will travel to Loyola University in Chicago on Dec. 9 for the first road game of the season before returning home to face Kentucky on Dec. 16 as the Spartans make their first appearance of the year on CBS (1 p.m.). Next, MSU will travel to the Meadowlands in New Jersey on Dec. 19 to face Seton Hall in neutral-site contest (ESPN, 9 p.m.).
Up next is a neutral-site game against Bolwing Green at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday, Dec. 27. During the NCAA Tournament Michigan State defeated Syracuse and Iowa State at the Palace to advance to the Final Four. The Spartans close out the non-conference schedule with a Dec. 30 contest with Wright State.
Big Ten Conference action begins for Michigan State on Wednesday, Jan. 3 with a home game against Penn State (ESPN Plus Local, 6 p.m.). Four of MSU's first five Big Ten games are at the Breslin Center. In addition to Penn State, the Spartans host Northwestern on Jan. 10 (8 p.m.), Wisconsin on Jan. 13 (ESPN Plus Regional, 4:30 p.m.) and Ohio State on Jan. 21 (CBS, 1:00 p.m.). A game against Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. on Jan. 7 (CBS, 1 p.m.) is the only road contest during the first two-and-a-half weeks of Big Ten play.
The Spartans then enter a stretch where they play five of their next six games away from East Lansing. First up is a road game at Northwestern on Jan. 24 (8 p.m.). On Saturday, Jan. 27, MSU will face Ohio State for the second time in a week (ESPN Plus Regional, 3:15 p.m.). The third-straight road contest on Jan. 30 sees Michigan State and Michigan face off for the first time in a nationally-televised game on ESPN (7 p.m.).
MSU will return home to host Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 4 on CBS (1 p.m.), before heading back on the road for games at Illinois on Feb. 6, (ESPN, 7 p.m.) and Minnesota (ESPN Plus Local, 8 p.m.). The Spartans did not travel to Champaign or Minneapolis during the 1999-2000 season.
On Sunday, Feb. 18, Michigan State hosts Iowa in a CBS broadcast at 4 p.m. The Spartans will then stay in East Lansing to host the Indiana Hoosiers on Feb. 20 or 21 depending on television. The game will be broadcast by ESPN at 7 p.m. if played on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and by ESPN Plus Local at 8 p.m. if played on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Last season, both games between the Hoosiers and Spartans went into overtime with the home team winning both games.
Michigan State will travel to Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 24 for a 7 p.m. game on ESPN. The Spartans' final road game of the season is at Wisconsin on either Tuesday, Feb. 27 (ESPN, 9 p.m.) or Thursday, March 1 (ESPN, 7 p.m.).
The Spartans wrap up the regular season at home against Michigan on Saturday, March 3 (ESPN Plus Regional, 2:30 p.m. or ESPN Plus Local, 8 p.m.) or Sunday, March 4 (CBS, 4 p.m.).
| DAY | DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | TIME |
| Tuesday | Nov. 7 | NORTHERN MICHIGAN (Exh.) | East Lansing | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sunday | Nov. 12 | HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS (Exh.) | East Lansing | TBA |
| Sunday | Nov. 19 | OAKLAND UNIVERSITY | East Lansing | TBA |
| Fri-Sat. | Nov. 24-25 | SPARTAN COCA-COLA CLASSIC | East Lansing | 6:00/8:20 p.m. |
| Friday | Nov. 24 | MSU vs. Cornell | East Lansing | 6:00 p.m. |
| ? | ? | Eastern Washington vs. Bradley | East Lansing | 8:20 p.m. |
| Saturday | Nov. 25 | Consolation | East Lansing | 6:00 p.m. |
| ? | ? | Championship | East Lansing | 8:20 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Nov. 29 | NORTH CAROLINA (espn2) | East Lansing | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | Dec. 2 | ILLINOIS-CHICAGO | East Lansing | 7:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Dec. 6 | FLORIDA (ESPN) | East Lansing | 7:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Dec. 9 | Loyola University | Chicago, Ill. | 4:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Dec. 16 | KENTUCKY (CBS) | East Lansing | 1:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Dec. 19 | vs. Seton Hall (ESPN) | South Orange, N.J. | 9:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Dec. 27 | vs. Bowling Green | Auburn Hills | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | Dec. 30 | WRIGHT STATE | East Lansing | 7:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Jan. 3 | PENN STATE (ESPN Plus Local) | East Lansing | 6:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | Jan. 7 | Indiana (CBS) | Bloomington, Ind. | 1 or 4 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Jan. 10 | NORTHWESTERN (TV TBA) | East Lansing | 8:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Jan. 13 | WISCONSIN (ESPN Plus Regional) | East Lansing | 4:30 p.m. |
| Sunday | Jan. 21 | OHIO STATE (CBS) | East Lansing | 1:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Jan. 24 | Northwestern (TV TBA) | Evanston, Ill. | 8:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Jan. 27 | Ohio State (ESPN Plus Regional) | Columbus, Ohio | 3:15 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Jan. 30 | Michigan (ESPN) | Ann Arbor | 7:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | Feb. 4 | PURDUE (CBS) | East Lansing | 1:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Feb. 6 | Illinois (ESPN) | Champaign, Ill. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Feb. 10 | Minnesota (ESPN Plus Local) | Minneapolis, Minn. | 8:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | Feb. 18 | IOWA (CBS) | East Lansing | 4:00 p.m. |
| Tue./Wed. | Feb. 20 or 21 | INDIANA # | East Lansing | 7 or 8 p.m. |
| Saturday | Feb. 24 | Penn State (ESPN) | State College, Pa. | 7:00 p.m. |
| Tue./Thur. | Feb. 27 or March 1 | Wisconsin ! | Madison, Wis. | 7 or 9 p.m. |
| Sat./Sun. | March 3 or 4 | MICHIGAN $ | East Lansing | 2:30 or 4 or 8 p.m. |
| Thr.-Sun. | March 8-11 | Big Ten Tournament | Chicago, Ill. | |
| Thr.-Sun. | March 15-18 | NCAA Tournament - First/Second Rds. | ||
| Thr.-Sun. | March 22-25 | NCAA Tournament - Regionals | ||
| Sat./Mon. | March 31/April 2 | NCAA Final Four | Minneapolis, Minn. | |
Home games played at the Breslin Center
Game times are eastern standard time and subject to change
# - MSU-Indiana will be televised by ESPN (7 p.m.) if played on Feb. 20 or by ESPN Plus Local (8 p.m.) if played on Feb. 21
! - MSU-Wisconsin will start at 9 p.m. (ESPN) if played on Feb. 27 or at 7 p.m. (ESPN) if played on March 1.
$ - MSU-Michigan will be televised by ESPN Plus Regional (2:30 p.m.) or ESPN Plus Local (8:00 p.m.) if played on March 3 or by CBS (4 p.m.) if played on March 4.
