Albion College, the 2019 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament champions, will tip off the men’s basketball season with an October 29th exhibition game against Big Ten Champion and Final Four participant Michigan State University.

JTV Sports | June 20th, 2019 | Gabriel Schray

Tip time and any television coverage for Albion College’s game against the Spartans will be announced at a later date. In addition to giving Albion a powerful test prior to its November 8th opener at the University of Mount Union- the exhibition also means Albion guards Zachary and Khy Winston will play against their older brother Cassius. Winston was a consensus All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year for Michigan State in 2019.

“We have the utmost respect for Head Coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State basketball program,” Albion Head Coach Jody May said. “We are excited for the opportunity to take the floor against one of the top college basketball teams in the country”

The MIAA is America’s oldest collegiate conference and Michigan State was a member of the MIAA from 1888-1907 when it was known as Michigan Agricultural College. The Britons and Spartans have played 11 official men’s basketball games, the last two were Spartan victories in January of 1945. Albion’s only victory in the series was a 37-31 decision on January 12th, 1927 in East Lansing.

As a broadcaster of sports like Albion College’s basketball program, this excites me. I love the unsung heroes of division three sports and I am excited to see the Brits take on the Spartans. The only other two times I can name a D3 program taking on powerhouse schools, were when Adrian College played a pair of similar contests. Syracuse men’s basketball defeated the Bulldogs 84-35 in November of 2014. Adrian’s Ice Hockey team also defeated Princeton’s last year.

For more local sports news and information, you can connect with JTV on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This article was written by JTV’s Gabriel Schray. He is in his fifth year covering Jackson Area sports and news for JTV. You can connect with Gabriel on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as well. Images in this article courtesy of Albion College and Michigan State University. This article is comprised of information from an Albion College press release.