Michigan State and Arizona to play in Acrisure Arena for nationally televised game on Thanksgiving
Michigan State and Arizona, two college basketball powerhouses, will face off in a nationally-televised game at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms on Thanksgiving Day.
The game will be part of the "Acrisure Invitational," a new multi-day college basketball tournament that will be headlined on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023, with the Michigan State-Arizona game.
Thanksgiving Day in Palm Springs
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) May 15, 2023
More: https://t.co/ZK9pUqsGts#RunWithUs #BearDown pic.twitter.com/JG7OGVqGnN
Official: Heading to Palm Springs for Thanksgiving 🏀
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) May 15, 2023
More: https://t.co/NZ21Dv1Mwc pic.twitter.com/oPDz1eyd8c
The headline game, titled "The Acrisure Classic," will air live on FOX following the Detroit Lions game against the Green Bay Packers. The Acrisure Classic is the final round of the Acrisure Invitational.
The Spartans and the Wildcats will tip off at 1:30 p.m. PST on Thanksgiving Day. The tournament is sponsored by Acrisure, the global fintech leader.
Tickets for the final round of the Acrisure Classic go on sale Wednesday, May 17 at 10:00 a.m. PST and will be available at the Acrisure Arena box office, online at Ticketmaster.com, the official ticketing provider of Acrisure Arena, and at the Michigan State and Arizona ticket offices.
Arizona is led by head coach Tommy Lloyd, who boasts an NCAA record 61 wins over his first two years in Tucson and back-to-back Pac-12 Tournament titles. The up-tempo style of play that Lloyd brought to the desert has seen Arizona lead the country in assists over the last two years while scoring 83 points per game.
The Wildcats will return one of the top big men in the country in first team All Pac-12 center Oumar Ballo, who averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 64.7% from the field last season, the eighth-best percentage in all of college basketball. Also back is Pelle Larsson, a do-it-all wing who averaged 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 83.5% at the free throw line on more than 130 attempts. Rising sophomore point guard Kylan Boswell will lead the backcourt after garnering Pac-12 All Freshman team honors in his debut season.
Michigan State finished the 2022-23 season with a 21-13 overall record, including an 11-8 mark in the Big Ten Conference, and was selected to play in the NCAA Tournament for the 25th-straight season, the second-longest active streak in Division I men’s basketball.
The Spartans won a pair of games in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 for the 15th time under Head Coach Tom Izzo.
The Spartans return guard Tyson Walker, an All-Big Ten Second Team selection, fifth year forward Malik Hall and several key letterwinners as well as welcoming one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.
