Michigan State Basketball: Ranking non-conference opponents for 2022-23 season

As one of the “blue bloods” in college hoops, Michigan State Basketball will automatically be a part of a few marquee non-conference matchups each season in the non-conference. They’re part of the ultimate clash of powers known as the “Champions Classic” where they rotate in taking on either Duke, Kansas, or Kentucky as part of an annual doubleheader.

And because they’re a Big Ten program, the Spartans also take on an opponent from the ACC in the annual “ACC/Big Ten Challenge”; usually a team projected in the top-5 of the other league. There’s also a fairly new non-conference event known as the “Gavitt Tipoff Games”, which pits programs from both the Big Ten and Big East.

That alone would be three tough power conference opponents that could be home or away and for most teams with leverage and prestige, that would be more than enough in terms of quality competition in the first two months of the season. But not head coach Tom Izzo, who clearly wanted to add more quality matchups for this upcoming season.

While the schedule for the entire Big Ten came out, so did the Spartans’ official non-conference list of opponents. There is 11 total, with nine confirmed. The other two will come in the PK85 Tournament, a three-game event that features two different brackets and as many as 10 top-25 teams overall. So Michigan State will play three solid opponents when in Portland.

But among those that the Spartans are guaranteed to play, who is the toughest overall? And how many should they reasonably win? Here’s a power ranking of the program’s upcoming confirmed foes.