How Rick Barnes, Tom Izzo friendship led to Tennessee matchup vs Michigan State

How Rick Barnes, Tom Izzo friendship led to Tennessee matchup vs Michigan State

JOHNSON CITY − As Tennessee basketball constructs its schedule for the 2026-27 season, coach Rick Barnes decided to phone an old friend.

Barnes announced on April 29 that the Vols would host the front end of a home-and-home series against Michigan State next season. It's an opportunity for Tennessee to test itself against a top Big 10 program, and for Barnes to reconnect with Spartans coach Tom Izzo.

They've coached against each other 10 times, including eight matchups when Barnes was at Texas. In their most recent meeting, Tennessee beat the Spartans, 89-88, in a preseason charity exhibition game in 2023.

Their relationship dates back to the 1980s when Barnes was at Ohio State and Izzo at Michigan State as assistant coaches.

"When we first met in Columbus, Ohio, we were at a high school there watching a local player," Barnes said April 30 during the Big Orange Caravan at Meadowview Convention Center. "He was an assistant under Jud (Heathcote), I was under Gary Williams. From that point one we just struck up a friendship. He's one of the great guys in this business. He's about all the right things. ... He's as fine a person as I've ever met."

Barnes and Izzo have a combined 70 years of head coaching experience and over 1,600 combined wins. Michigan State won a national championship under Izzo in 2000, but the Spartans haven't made the Final Four since 2019 and lost to UConn last season in the Sweet 16. Tennessee has reached the Elite Eight in the past three NCAA tournaments.

Tennessee's confirmed 2026-27 opponents include a home game against Michigan State, a game at Purdue, a neutral site game against NC State in Nashville, the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas and an unnamed opponent in the ACC-SEC challenge.