Michigan State Univ. will open its '12-13 men's basketball schedule against UConn in "the first college basketball game played on an overseas base," according to Joe Rexrode of the LANSING STATE JOURNAL. The game will be held "at Ramstein AirBase in Germany" on Nov. 9. MSU AD Mark Hollis also is "continuing to explore his idea of MSU and Greece playing a men’s basketball game in Greece" (LANSING STATE JOURNAL, 6/27). Hollis said that the game "would be played in front of an audience of 2,500 to 3,000 enlisted men and women and a national television audience on ESPN" (MLIVE.com, 6/26). ESPN.com's Andy Katz noted the game "would start late, sometime after 10 p.m. local time in Germany, for an early evening East Coast start time." MSU coach Tom Izzo said, "I asked my players if they wanted to do it and they were jacked. Has a college team ever played a regular-season game in Europe? I don't think so. It will be cool." UConn coach Jim Calhoun said, "This is a great thing for us and for the kids, especially on Veterans Day." UConn last year was "originally going to play against Arizona in the sequel to the UNC-Michigan State Carl Vinson game, but that game fell through." After the '11 Carrier Classic, a number of sailors said that they "appreciated the attention and the break from the daily grind of being at sea or sitting in dock on the ship" (ESPN.com, 6/26).
