Michigan State led by 16 points with eight minutes to play, but Villanova clawed back all the way to to the final buzzer.
Michigan State rolled to another victory, defeating Florida A&M 109-44.
MSU will host the Villanova Wildcats Friday at 8 p.m. at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State can secure a 5-0 start to the season with a win over Florida A&M on Thursday night.
Junior center Mady Sissoko is showing immense growth three games into MSU's 2022-23 season.
After a slow start, MSU pulled away by limiting Oakland to just nine combined points in the second and third quarters.
MSU upset the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Michigan State hosts Oakland at 7 p.m. at the Breslin Center.
MSU heads to Indianapolis to face No. 4 Kentucky with Oscar Tshiebwe's status up in the air.
A third generation Spartan, Lieutenant Commander Sean Newman didn't hesitate when given the opportunity to watch MSU aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Five Spartans had at least 11 points as MSU moved to 3-0 to start the season.
The last time the Broncos came away with a win against MSU was 40 years ago in 1982 in Grand Rapids. MSU is 7-3 all-time at home against Western.
Michigan State looked like a much better team when Mady Sissoko was on the floor.
Despite leading for a majority of the game, Michigan State was unable to take the win from No. 2 Gonzaga aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Armed Forces Classic.
MSU will face Gonzaga in its second Armed Forces Classic appearance in San Diego.
Michigan State and Gonzaga are both juggling the balance between focusing on the game and also relishing in the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Senior forward Taiyier Parks scored a career-high 18 points to lead the MSU women's basketball team (2-0) past Purdue Fort Wayne (1-1) 85-53 on Thursday night.
The State News' sports editor Sam Sklar spoke with Tommy Conmy of The Gonzaga Bulletin to get a preview of what the Spartans are up against.
The two teams last met in 2013 with Purdue Fort Wayne taking the victory.
Xavier Booker, Coen Carr, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Gehrig Normand are officially incoming Spartans.