DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Lions playing in Detroit on Thanksgiving has become a tradition for generations, and this years, Lions fans can head right to Little Caesars Arena to see a college basketball game between two Hall of Fame coaches in the late afternoon.
Tom Izzo and Michigan State will take on John Calipari and Arkansas in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, the programs announced on Wednesday evening. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS, with the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic set to tip off at 4:30 p.m.
"I love any time we get a chance to play in Detroit and at Little Caesars Arena," Izzo said in a press release. "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. This is the second straight year we'll play a very talented Arkansas team, and it gives me another chance to match up with one of my great friends in college basketball, John Calipari. These are the types of games that will help both teams down the road. 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."
The game is part of a two-year, home-and-home series between the Spartans and the Razorbacks, as MSU will play in Arkansas next season.
This will be the seventh all-time match-up between Izzo and Calipari, who each have a 3-3 record against one another. The Spartans won the last two meetings; a 69-66 MSU win over Arkansas last year and an 86-77 win against Kentucky in the 2022 Champions Classic.
Tickets for the game go on sale on Thursday, Oct. 1. You can register for presale at this link.