NCAA Basketball: Top 15 non-conference games for state of Michigan teams

12. Oklahoma State at Oakland on November 13th

Last season, Oakland went to Oklahoma State and upset the Cowboys by a final score of 56-55. The Golden Grizzlies lost Jamal Cain who now plays with the Miami Heat but they added four transfers and return three starters and will have more depth in comparison to last season.

Oklahoma State is projected to be marginally better than last season but the Cowboys this year are playing at Oakland and the Golden Grizzlies in non-conference play going back to last season play very well on their home court in non-conference play. This should be a great game and Oakland may enter this game as a slight favorite.

11. Eastern Michigan at Oakland on November 19th

This will be an anticipated matchup between the Eagles Emoni Bates and the Golden Grizzlies Rocket Watts. Both are projected to be highly Impactful players for their new teams as both players come from big-name programs. Eastern Michigan and Oakland should be better than they were last season, especially the Eagles as both programs had a good off-season adding players from the transfer portal and bring back multiple starters from last season.

This will be a very early in the season match-up for both schools and the game very likely will be played in a sold-out arena, unlike last year when these two teams played one another in an exhibition game. This game will be a toss-up but Oakland should be the favorite in this one.

10. Oakland at Michigan State TBD

This is the return of Rocket Watts to East Lansing as he faces off against his former team. Watts played at Michigan State in his first two seasons of college before he transferred to Mississippi State where he played last season. Watts hopes to lead the Golden Grizzlies to victory over the Spartans this season.

Oakland played well early but lost to Michigan State last year on the home floor of the Detroit Pistons. Michigan State does not have the depth they had from last season but they will have a solid starting five led by their backcourt. Oakland has a strong backcourt as well so you can foresee that which team’s frontcourt plays the best will determine the outcome of the game. The Spartans have never lost to the Golden Grizzlies and they will be the favorites on their home court but don’t be shocked if Oakland finds a way to pull off the upset.

9. Michigan State at Notre Dame on November 30th (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)

This game will not be the headliner or even one of the top five games of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge but it should be a good match-up between the two schools. Even though the offseason discussion about the Fighting Irish has focused on if their football team will eventually join the Big Ten in the near future, the basketball team more than likely will continue their success from last season when they finished second in the ACC and won two games in the NCAA tournament before losing to Texas Tech by single digits. For Michigan State, it is more about redemption after the past two seasons.

The Spartans have won the past two meetings between the teams with the last time they faced off against one another coming in 2020. However, the last time Michigan State played at Notre Dame which took place in 2014, the Fighting Irish defeated the Spartans by one point. They will be a solid matchup with Notre Dame being the slight favorites on their home court.