​It’s official: Tom Izzo and John Calipari will be spending Thanksgiving together in Detroit. Michigan State basketball is set to take on Arkansas on Thursday, November 26, in a nonconference showdown at Little Caesars Arena. The two Hall of Fame coaches discussed the game back in April, and the contract has now been finalized. Tickets will go on sale October 1 at www.DetroitHoops.com/tickets.
The Spartans and Razorbacks are scheduled to tip off at 4:30 p.m. on a busy Thanksgiving Day in downtown Detroit. The day also features the 100th anniversary of America’s Thanksgiving Parade, which will march down Woodward Avenue starting at 8:45 a.m., followed by the Detroit Lions hosting the Chicago Bears at 1 p.m. at Ford Field. Arkansas’ head coach John Calipari and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo were photographed meeting before a game on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Both the Lions-Bears game and the MSU-Arkansas matchup will be broadcast on CBS.
“I love any time we get a chance to play in Detroit and at Little Caesars Arena,” Izzo said in a statement released Wednesday, July 8. “When there’s an opportunity to play in a game that will create lasting memories for your players and your program, you seize it. To play a program like Arkansas in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, right after the Lions, will make for a terrific day for sports fans in our state and for college basketball.”
This will be the second consecutive season that Izzo and Calipari have faced one another. MSU already defeated Arkansas, 69-66, on November 8 at Breslin Center in East Lansing. Across six previous meetings, Izzo and Calipari have a 3-3 history against each other. Last season’s matchup was part of a two-game, home-and-home agreement announced in August 2025 and originally planned to be completed in the fall. The Spartans, however, will instead travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, during the 2027-28 season. MSU holds a 3-0 all-time record against Arkansas, including a 1995 victory on November 28 in Izzo’s first season at the Great Eight, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
For more information, contact Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com or follow him on X (Twitter) @chrissolari. Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press. The game is expected to draw strong interest as part of a tumultuous Thanksgiving schedule in Detroit, underscoring the city’s role as a hub for high-profile college basketball and major NFL action.