Big Ten Conference Releases Men's Basketball Conference Schedule
8/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 19, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Big Ten Conference released the schedule for intraconference men's basketball games on Tuesday morning. Michigan State's conference slate will feature 16-straight Big Ten games, with its byes coming in the first and last games of the conference rotation. The Spartans will play Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and Illinois just once during the regular season, with the Hoosiers and Hawkeyes coming to East Lansing, while MSU hits the road to play at the Buckeyes and Illini. All 16 conference games will be televised with two on CBS, six on ESPN, three on ESPN Plus Regional and four on ESPN Plus Local. The final game of the season could be played on either ESPN or ESPN Plus Local.
After a mid-week bye in the first week of January, Michigan State opens the Big Ten season on the road on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Wisconsin in a nationally-televised ESPN contest (12 p.m.). The Spartans' Big Ten home opener is Wednesday, Jan. 14 as they host Penn State (ESPN Plus Local, 8 p.m.). After a one-year absence from East Lansing, Michigan will travel to the Breslin Center on Saturday, Jan. 17 in a CBS game (3:45 p.m.).
After the two-game homestand, the Spartans hit the road for three games, with contests at Northwestern (Jan. 21, 7 p.m.), Purdue (Jan. 25, 2 p.m.) and Minnesota (Jan. 28, 9 p.m.). The game with the Boilermakers will be a Sunday afternoon CBS broadcast, while the other two games will be carried by ESPN Plus Local.
The next four games feature the opponents Michigan State will play just once during the regular-season, beginning with an 8 p.m. Saturday night ESPN contest against Indiana (Jan. 31). The Spartans will then host Iowa on Wednesday, Feb. 4 (ESPN Plus Local, 8 p.m.). The next two games will be on the road at Ohio State on Satuday, Feb. 7 (12 p.m.) and at Illinois on Tuesday, Feb. 10 (9 p.m.). ESPN will televise both games.
The Spartans return to East Lansing for a three-game homestand with games against Minnesota (Feb. 14, 12:17 p.m.), Purdue (Feb. 17, 7 p.m.) and Northwestern (Feb. 21, 12:17 p.m.). The Purdue contest will be a Tuesday night broadcast on ESPN, while the Minnesota and Northwestern games will be Saturday afternoon ESPN Plus Regional broadcasts.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, the Spartans travel to Ann Arbor for a game at Michigan, broadcast nationally on ESPN (7 p.m.). The final road game of the Big Ten season has MSU at Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 12:17 p.m. (ESPN Plus Regional). Michigan State closes out the Big Ten schedule at home against Wisconsin on either Tuesday, March 2 or Wednesday, March 3. The game will be a 7 p.m. ESPN broadcast if played on March 2, or a 6 or 8 p.m. ESPN Plus Local game if played on March 3.
The Spartans will have a bye on the last weekend of the season. The 2004 Big Ten Tournament will be held March 11-14 in Indianapolis.
2003-04 MICHIGAN STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL BIG TEN SCHEDULE
| DAY | DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | TIME |
| Saturday | Jan. 10 | Wisconsin (ESPN) | Madison, WI | 12:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Jan. 14 | PENN STATE (ESPN+ Local) | East Lansing | 8:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Jan. 17 | MICHIGAN (CBS) | East Lansing | 3:45 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Jan. 21 | Northwestern (ESPN+ Local) | Evanston, IL | 7:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | Jan. 25 | Purdue (CBS) | West Lafayette, IN | 2:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Jan. 28 | Minnesota (ESPN+ Local) | Minneapolis, MN | 9:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Jan. 31 | INDIANA (ESPN) | East Lansing | 8:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Feb. 4 | IOWA (ESPN+ Local) | East Lansing | 8:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Feb. 7 | Ohio State (ESPN) | Columbus, OH | 12:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Feb. 10 | Illinois (ESPN) | Champaign, IL | 9:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Feb. 14 | MINNESOTA (ESPN+ Regional) | East Lansing | 12:17 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Feb. 17 | PURDUE (ESPN) | East Lansing | 7:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Feb. 21 | NORTHWESTERN (ESPN+ Regional) | East Lansing | 12:17 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Feb. 24 | Michigan (ESPN) | Ann Arbor, MI | 7:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Feb. 28 | Penn State (ESPN+ Regional) | State College, PA | 12:17 p.m. |
| Tues./Wed. | March 2/3 | WISCONSIN (ESPN/ESPN+ Local)# | East Lansing | 7 p.m./6 or 8 p.m. |
| Thur.-Sun. | March 11-14 | Big Ten Tournament | Indianapolis, IN | TBD |
Home games (BOLD) played at the Breslin Center Game times are eastern standard time and subject to change
# MSU-Wisconsin will be televised by ESPN (7:00 p.m.) if played on March 2 or televised by ESPN Plus Local (6:00 or 8:00 p.m.) if played on March 3.
