October 13 at Superior Dome
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan men’s basketball team is set to host the Michigan State Spartans for a preseason exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 13 in Marquette. The game will tip off in the Superior Dome at 1 p.m. (ET).
The Superior Dome opened in 1991 and was recognized in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest free-standing wooden dome in the world. The Superior Dome, which has a permanent seating capacity of 8,000, serves as the home to the Wildcats football team. This will be the first collegiate basketball action to take place in the venue.
Ticket and broadcast information for the game will come at a later date.
This will be the first visit for 30th-year Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo to his alma mater to coach a game. Izzo was a 1977 graduate of Northern Michigan.
“To say I’m excited about the opportunity to bring my Michigan State team to play at Northern Michigan, my alma mater, would be a pretty big understatement,” Izzo said. “This is something we’ve wanted to try and do for a while, and I think it’s going to be a pretty special event. We’re excited to bring our team to the UP to play, and it’s going to be very cool to play a game in the Superior Dome, one of the really great venues in college athletics. I think this will mean a great deal to people, not only in East Lansing but especially for the great people in Marquette and the Upper Peninsula.
“I’ve always said that I want my players to have moments that are memory-makers for them, from playing on an aircraft carrier or in the Champions Classic and getting the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. I know they’re excited about going to play at a place that is really special for me, and I think this is going to be a memory-maker for all of us.”
Izzo has coached against his alma mater six times in preseason exhibition games, most recently on Oct. 30, 2018, a 93-47 win for MSU at the Breslin Center.
The Wildcats and Spartans have played eight times in regular season play, with MSU leading the all-time series, 7-1.
The last two times the teams played, in 1974 and 1975, Northern Michigan’s starting lineup included a guard from Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula, Tom Izzo.
On Dec. 16, 1975 at Jenison Field House, the Spartans posted an 81-65 win over the Wildcats, with Izzo playing 32 minutes and scoring 9 points, with 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block, and 1 steal. The last time the Spartans visited Northern Michigan was on Dec. 16, 1975. MSU posted a 91-59 win, with Izzo playing 26 minutes, handing out a team-high 6 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds.
