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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga-Michigan State scrimmage set for Oct. 27 in Minneapolis

Gonzaga’s Mark Few and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo meet a midcourt after the Spartans’ 75-71 win in 2011 in Spokane. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

The Gonzaga-Michigan State closed scrimmage has been on the books for weeks and now they’ve settled on a date and location.

The college basketball powers will tangle Oct. 27 in Minneapolis.

The Spartans are projected as a top-15 team despite having to replace lottery picks Jaren Jackson (No. 4 to Memphis) and Miles Bridges (No. 12 to the Los Angeles Clippers, traded to Charlotte).

The scrimmage should serve as quality preparation with both programs facing tough nonconference schedules. Michigan State opens against Kansas on Nov. 6. The Zags have marquee matchups against Tennessee, Washington, Creighton and North Carolina, and they’ll play in a loaded eight-team field at the Maui Invitational.

Michigan State beat the Zags 75-71 in East Lansing in 2009 and 74-67 in 2011 in Spokane, the latter behind Draymond Green’s 34 points.

Closed scrimmages have been permitted by the NCAA since 2005. Schools aren’t allowed to promote the event and media and fans are prohibited from attending.

GU has held past scrimmages against Baylor and Texas. The scrimmage will be a first for Michigan State, which has instead opted for two exhibition games.