The MSU women’s basketball team knows where and when they will be playing next year, as the schedule for the 2012-13 season was released Friday.
The schedule features nine schools that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year, and two major road trips where the Spartans will travel to North Carolina to take on NC State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and fly to Las Vegas to take part in the Duel in the Desert where they will face off against Oregon State and Texas Tech.
“This year’s non-conference schedule will challenge our team early. We will battle quality programs with many different styles of play which will definitely help us prepare for the rigors of the Big Ten Conference,” head coach Suzy Merchant said in a press release.
“Eight of our non-conference opponents qualified for the postseason last year, five of which we will face on the road or on a neutral floor.”
The Spartans will play IPFW on Dec. 16 at Jenison Field House.
The Big Ten campaign kicks off Jan. 3 against Minnesota, and three of the first four games are at Breslin Center.
The Wolverines come to town on Feb. 4, and the Spartans travel to Ann Arbor for a rematch on Feb. 16.
For the first time in eleven years, the Big Ten Tournament won’t be held in Indianapolis, but instead take place at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. from March 7-10.
“The Big Ten should be as balanced and strong as it has been over the last couple years,” Merchant said. “The conference qualified a record seven teams into the NCAA Tournament last spring, and most of those teams return the core of their roster.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
