The 2012 – 2013 season schedule has been released and now is a good time to take a short break from salivating over football and take a quick peek at the land of Izzo. The schedule is here if you wish to download the pdf version, and if not just have a look below:

2012-13 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
October
Tues. 30 NORTHWOOD (FL.) (Exhib.) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
November
Fri. 2 ST. CLOUD STATE (Exhib.) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Fri. 9 vs. Connecticut (Armed Forces Classic) Ramstein Air Base, Germany pregame 5:30, 6:00 tip.
Tues. 13 vs. Kansas (Champions Classic) (ESPN) Atlanta, Ga. 7 p.m.
Spartan Showcase presented by Auto-Owners Insurance
Sun. 18 TEXAS SOUTHERN East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Tues. 20 BOISE STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Fri. 23 OAKLAND East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sun. 25 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 28 at Miami (Fla.) (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) (ESPN) Miami, Fla. 7:30 p.m.
December
Sat. 1 NICHOLLS STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 5 ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 8 LOYOLA (CHICAGO) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Jenison Weekend
Fri. 14 MICHIGAN STATE ALUMNI GAME (Jenison Fieldhouse) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 15 TUSKEGEE (Jenison Fieldhouse) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Tues. 18 at Bowling Green Bowling Green, Ohio TBA
Sat. 22 TEXAS East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Mon. 31 at Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. TBA
January
Sat. 5 PURDUE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Thurs. 10 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa TBA
Sun. 13 NEBRASKA East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 16 at Penn State State College, Pa. TBA
Sat. 19 OHIO STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Tues. 22 at Wisconsin Madison, Wis. TBA
Sun. 27 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. TBA
Thurs. 31 ILLINOIS East Lansing, Mich. TBA
February
Wed. 6 MINNESOTA East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 9 at Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. TBA
Tues. 12 MICHIGAN East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 16 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb. TBA
Tues. 19 INDIANA East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sun. 24 at Ohio State Columbus, Ohio TBA
March
Sat./Sun. 2/3 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. TBA
Thurs. 7 WISCONSIN East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sun. 10 NORTHWESTERN East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Thur.-Sun. 14-17 Big Ten Tournament Chicago, Ill.
Tues.-Wed. 19-20 NCAA Tournament – First Round
Thur.-Sun. 21-24 NCAA Tournament – Second & Third Rounds
Thur.-Sun. 28-31 NCAA Tournament – Regionals
April
Sat. & Mon. 6 & 8 NCAA Final Four Atlanta, Ga.
Home games (BOLD) played at the Breslin Center
Game times are Eastern Standard Time and subject to change

Of course the usual non-conference gauntlet is there again this year. You know, the types of games that illicit open questioning of Izzo’s sanity, and that have become a hallmark of his tenure. In November, the boys travel to Germany to play UConn at Ramstein Air Base.

Oh, wait, not the same thing but you get the idea. After that they come home and take a breather against Kansas in the Champions Classic before ending the month with the ACC / Big Ten Challenge. If that wasn’t enough work to do before beginning the grind of the B1G schedule, they tossed Texas into the mix around Christmas. Happy Holidays.

Once battle tested early, the team can finally settle into the cozy B1G schedule where I am most notably glad to see that Michigan is to be played twice. I have never been able to fathom why U of M would not be on the Spartans schedule twice in any year. That sort of thing is just an aberration generated by a computer, in my mind, and should never be allowed to happen. Fix it when it occurs. Skip a different team to balance the schedule, I don’t care which.

All in all, there are no major surprises since we in the Spartan Nation are quite accustomed to seeing a hellish schedule. Precious few cupcakes dropped in between the difficult match ups once again, but also plenty of talent on the team with which to handle the rigors. I am sure we will be posting much more on that subject at a later time, but for now I know that football is king. Long live the King! Enjoy perusing the schedule, file it away, and get ready to watch the Spartans battle Boise State….TOMORROW.

Go Green!!