(MSU) – The Michigan State men’s basketball team travels to Marquette, Michigan, to face Northern Michigan for a preseason game on Sunday, October 13.
According to an MSU press release, the game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET at the Superior Dome on the NMU campus in Marquette.
The Superior Dome in Northern Michigan opened in 1991 and entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010 as the world’s largest freestanding wooden dome. The Superior Dome, which has a permanent seating capacity of 8,000, is home to the Wildcats football team. This will be the first college basketball game to be played at the facility.
Information about tickets and broadcast of the game will follow at a later date.
For Michigan State University head coach for 30 years, Tom Izzo, this is his first visit to his alma mater to coach a game there. Izzo graduated from Northern Michigan University in 1977.
“To say I’m excited about the opportunity to play with my Michigan State team at Northern Michigan, my alma mater, would be quite an understatement,” Izzo said. “This is something we’ve wanted to try for some time, and I think it’s going to be a very special occasion. We’re excited to get our team up to the UP, and it’s going to be very cool to play a game in the Superior Dome, one of the really great venues for college sports. I think this is going to mean a lot to people, not just in East Lansing, but especially to the great people in Marquette and the Upper Peninsula.
“I’ve always said I want to give my players moments that they’ll remember, whether it’s playing on an aircraft carrier or in the Champions Classic or having a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. I know they’re excited to play in a place that’s really special to me and I think this will be a memory for all of us.”
Izzo has coached six preseason games against his alma mater, most recently on October 30, 2018, when they won 93-47 at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans and Wildcats have played each other eight times during the regular season, with MSU leading the overall standings at 7-1.
In the teams’ final two games in 1974 and 1975, Northern Michigan’s starting lineup included a guard from Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula, Tom Izzo.
On December 16, 1975, the Spartans beat the Wildcats 81-65 at Jenison Field House. Izzo played 32 minutes and recorded 9 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block and 1 steal. The last time the Spartans visited Northern Michigan was on December 16, 1975. MSU won 91-59. Izzo played 26 minutes, had the team’s most assists and grabbed 5 rebounds.
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