Michigan State Basketball Releases Full 2011-2012 Schedule

I'm a little bit late to the punch on this, but Michigan State released its full schedule for the 2011-2012 season today. 

It's a bit big, so I'm posting it after the jump.  A note -- all times are Eastern.

October

Sun 30 FERRIS STATE (Exhib.) (BTN.com) East Lansing, Mich. 2 p.m.

November

Fri. 4 HILLSDALE (Exhib.) (BTN.com) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON

Fri. 11 vs. North Carolina (ESPN) San Diego, Calif. 7 p.m.
Tues. 15 vs. Duke (ESPN) New York, N.Y. 7 p.m.

Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational
Fri. 18 TEXAS SOUTHERN East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sun. 20 ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 6 p.m.
Wed. 23 MILWAUKEE (BTN.com) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sun. 27 at Eastern Michigan Ypsilanti, Mich. TBA

Wed. 30 FLORIDA STATE (ESPN) East Lansing, Mich. 7:30 p.m.

December

Sun 4 NEBRASKA OMAHA East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 7 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 10 at Gonzaga (ESPN2) Spokane, Wash. 9 p.m.
Sat. 17 BOWLING GREEN (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Mon. 19 UMKC (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8:30 p.m.
Thu. 22 LEHIGH East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 28 INDIANA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 31 at Nebraska (Big Ten Network) Lincoln, Neb. 3 p.m.

January

Tues. 3 at Wisconsin (ESPN2) Madison, Wis. 7 p.m.
Tues. 10 IOWA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 14 at Northwestern (Big Ten Network) Evanston, Ill. 3 p.m.
Tues. 17 at Michigan (ESPN) Ann Arbor, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 21 PURDUE (ESPN) East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.
Wed. 25 MINNESOTA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8:30 p.m.
Tues. 31 at Illinois (ESPN) Champaign, Ill. 7 p.m.

February

Sun. 5 MICHIGAN (CBS) East Lansing, Mich. 1 p.m.
Wed. 8 PENN STATE (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 11 Ohio State (ESPN) Columbus, Ohio 6 p.m.
Thurs. 16 WISCONSIN (ESPN/ESPN2) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sun. 19 at Purdue (CBS/Big Ten Network) West Lafayette, Ind. 1/4/6 p.m.
Wed. 22 at Minnesota (Big Ten Network) Minneapolis, Minn. 8:30 p.m.
Sat. 25 NEBRASKA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8 p.m.
Tues. 28 at Indiana (ESPN) Bloomington, Ind. 7 p.m.

March
Sun. 4 OHIO STATE (Big Ten Network/ESPN/CBS) East Lansing, Mich. 12/1/4 p.m.

A few notes:

• People will panic if MSU opens the season at 0-2.  Please do not be one of them.
• The Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational reportedly is a five-team round-robin event.  I'm not sure why the EMU game was scheduled in Ypsilanti, but it'll be nice for Spartans on the east side, and if MSU wins (please win), the RPI boost can't hurt.
• Gonzaga's scheduled for 9 p.m., but once again, that's Eastern Standard Time.  I'd be freaking out if that was Pacific, because I don't know how well MSU can play when their body clocks are telling them it's midnight.
• The Big Ten schedule gets off to a nice start -- home against an improved Indiana squad, to Nebraska (good that they're getting that road trip out of the way on Winter break), and at Wisconsin (hopefully the students stay home while on break, but I doubt it).
• Michigan State has an easy January -- plenty of rest and practice time.  Contrast that with:
• February, where MSU will play five games in 12 days at its end, three of them away.  This will be the toughest portion of the season, and they'll need Izzo-type depth by then.  I don't know how the Big Ten thought this was OK.
  
• Luckily, they'll have a five game break before Senior Day against Ohio State.  

Excepting the 12-day five-game gauntlet, the Big Ten schedule sets up well for MSU -- a January where they'll have a lot of practice time before they face the brunt.  Thoughts?