​It’s official: Tom Izzo and John Calipari will spend Thanksgiving together in Detroit as Michigan State and Arkansas face off in a nonconference matchup. The game is scheduled for Thursday, November 26, at Little Caesars Arena, with tip-off at 4:30 p.m. in downtown Detroit. The event is set to be a high-profile addition to a bustling Thanksgiving Day in the city, following the 8:45 a.m. start of America’s Thanksgiving Parade along Woodward Avenue and the NFL matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears at Ford Field at 1 p.m. Both the Spartans and the Razorbacks are led by Hall of Fame coaches who discussed the game in April, and the contract for the game has now been finalized. Tickets will go on sale October 1 at www.DetroitHoops.com/tickets.
Izzo expressed enthusiasm about playing in Detroit and at Little Caesars Arena, highlighting the opportunity to create a memorable experience for his players and program. “I love any time we get a chance to play in Detroit and at Little Caesars Arena,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday, July 8. “When you have a chance to play a game that will be a memory-maker for your players and your program, you take advantage of that opportunity. To play a team like Arkansas in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, right after the Lions, will make for a great day for sports fans in our state and for college basketball.”
This will mark the second consecutive season in which Izzo and Calipari meet. Last season, Michigan State defeated Arkansas, 69-66, on November 8 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The Izzo-Calipari rivalry has produced six previous meetings, with Izzo holding a 3-3 record in those head-to-head clashes. The latest pairing was part of a two-game, home-and-home arrangement announced in August 2025, which was originally supposed to be completed this fall. Instead, the Spartans will now travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, during the 2027-28 season.
MSU already holds a 3-0 all-time record against Arkansas, which includes a notable win on November 28, 1995, when Izzo secured one of his early victories in the Great Eight era at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The upcoming Thanksgiving game adds another chapter to a storied series that features two of college basketball’s most recognizable coaches and programs.
The Detroit event promises to be widely televised, with both the Lions-Bears game and the MSU-Arkansas showdown slated to air on CBS. For those following the press coverage, contacts are available through Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com. He can be followed on Twitter at @chrissolari for updates, and readers are encouraged to subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for ongoing coverage and discussion, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever podcasts are streamed. This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press and was crafted to support better search visibility for Michigan State-Arkansas as a marquee Thanksgiving matchup in Detroit.