Students line up in the early afternoon in anticipation for the basketball game against the University of Michigan on Tuesday outside of Breslin Center. The tip-off will be at 9 p.m.
—As the No. 8 MSU men’s basketball team prepares for its biggest game of the season against rival No. 4 Michigan, MSU students are making preparations of their own on the sidewalks in front of Breslin Center.
This will be the first time the both teams take the court ranked in the AP Top 10. As one of the most important games of the season thus far, fans are expected to turn out in droves.
Dozens of students began camping out hours before the tip off — some since the wee hours of the morning — and huddled under their blankets waiting outside the doors of Breslin Center. They all have the same hope – to earn the best lower bowl seats possible to cheer on the Spartans.
“I got here at 8 (a.m.) this morning,” special education freshman Hannah Femia said. “Our group that we came with is working in shifts so we will be here for about three or four hours. We came in our pajamas and we had a lot of blankets. Earlier we had our computer out and were watching movies, listening to music and everything.”
The dedicated students, dressed in green and write, were shivering under blankets as they waited to enter the arena.
A few of the students were even planning on missing classes in order to get a closer view at the big game.
“I had one class earlier and we had an exam,” finance freshman David Weston said. “If we didn’t have that, I would have been here.”
Weston was joined by journalism freshman Michael Masson at the sidewalk camp out.
‘“I’ve been here since like 12:45 p.m. I went to two of my classes this morning and I’m skipping two this afternoon for this,” Masson said.
The students waiting outside were not the only ones involved in the preparation for the big game.
“They gave us free pizza and our friends are bringing us blankets and more jackets,” communication freshman Kimme Ho said.
When discussing their favorite players, projected scores and overall expectations for the game, some students began to get excited for the game ahead.
“It will be a good game,” Masson said, “It will be close. It will be loud; a rivalry of course. As long as we win, I don’t care what the score is.”
Accounting freshman Mackenzie Jebb was among the first students to arrive at Breslin Center this morning.
She said her main reason for turning out early was to see some of the players that she knows personally.
“We know a lot of the freshman, they live in our hall,” Jebb said. “ My guess is that we’re probably going to get about 78 points total in the game.”
The Spartans take on Michigan starting at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
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