THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. – On Thanksgiving Day, Acrisure Arena was dressed up like Christmas as No. 3 Arizona took on No. 21 Michigan State with millions projected to be watching at home.
Not only did the new arena outside Palm Springs feature a 50-foot high Christmas tree at its main entrance plaza, but fans of the Spartans and Wildcats mostly filled the lower bowl with waves of green and red in support of their teams.
Final tally: Probably about 60 percent UA fans and 40 percent MSU fans.
Game face
While Michigan State fans were in the slight minority, thanks to the game’s proximity to Arizona its alumni base in California, MSU had a Western alum base of its own to draw from.
Jake Kaufman, a Michigan State graduate living in San Luis Obsipo, California, said he turned the game into a full-on Thanksgiving weekend, renting an Airbnb home in the Palm Springs area and building activities around the game.
“We came in strictly for the game,” Jake Kaufman said.
His 7-year-old son, Judah came prepared. While the Spartans and Wildcats warmed up before the game, he stood along the baseline with a face painted in white on one side and green on the other.
Buzzbox
Fans had no shortage of alcoholic beverages to enjoy with Saturday’s game.
Not only were the obligatory local brews available from Coachella Valley Brewing, along with Estrella Jalisco and Michelob Ultra, but there are two section-wide bar areas behind each side of the arena: The Michelob Ultra Gold Bar and the buzzbox Bar.
In one corner of the arena, a smaller bar named the Garrison Brothers Bourbon Bar had message plastered above rows of bottled whiskey.
“Good bourbon can change the world,” it said.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) steals the ball from Michigan State guard A.J. Hoggard (11) during the second half of the Wildcat’s win at the Acrisure Classice Thursday in Palm Desert, California.
Two-faced Spartan
Veteran Michigan State point guard A.J. Hoggard was the epitome of the Spartans’ slow start, going 0 for 2 with two turnovers in the first half. He played only eight minutes.
In the second half, Hoggard scored 15 points without a turnover, the epitome of the Spartans’ comeback after halftime.
So after the game, when MSU coach Tom Izzo was asked by a Michigan-based writer what he made of Hoggard’s zig-zag performance, Izzo looked puzzled.
“What do you make of that?” Izzo said.
“Troubling as it is promising,” the writer said.
“Wow,” Izzo said. “That’s a hell of a statement. ... I don’t ever like to agree with the media and I think you’re right on.”
Another Maui?
While Acrisure Arena can be easily mistaken for a sprawling corporate headquarters as you approach it along on Interstate 10 outside Palm Springs — what might appear to be rows of windows from a distance are actually different waves of earthtone paints — event planners say they see the potential for the 10,815-seat arena to become the site of a premier college basketball multi-team event.
With the arena opening in December 2022, it wasn’t possible to book elite teams for a full-on MTE right away but the chief executive of Acrisure — a financial technology firm that has a 10-year naming rights deal for the building – is a prominent Michigan State booster who presumably has Izzo’s ear.
So Izzo agreed to tip off college basketball at the arena, and Arizona agreed. The two schools had to host mid-major teams in add-on games to make it an MTE under NCAA rules.
The arena, which will also host an “Acrisure Invitational” on Friday and Saturday among mid-major teams, has plans to host 12 men’s teams and four women’s teams as part of two five-day tournaments next season over Thanksgiving week next season.
Event planner Dan Shell, a former college basketball assistant coach, told the Desert Sun there’s a huge opportunity for Acrisure to become the top MTE.
“This could be like Maui, but bigger,” Shell said. “Palm Springs, with that arena, has that potential.”
There’s palm trees but...
Acrisure Arena announced this week that USC and San Diego State will play in is full-on MTE next season, with “additional notable NCAA Division I teams to be announced,” but could the arena really become a bigger version of the single most prestigious MTE in the game?
While the Maui Invitational was moved to Honolulu this season because of fires that destroyed the town of Lahaina, south of the arena, Acrisure has a different vibe.
Part of the Maui Invitational’s appeal is that the Lahaina Civic Center holds only 2,400 fans and is usually at capacity, mostly filled with team boosters and a few hundred curious locals. The event hosts a massive luau before the event, houses teams in top hotels fronting Kaanaapali beach and, during games, features Hula dancing and ukulele concerts.
The Acrisure Classic drew both Michigan State and Arizona into town on Tuesday, while the Wildcats stayed in the La Quinta Resort & Club, no pregame events were held. The timeout and halftime entertainment was standard fare, too.
But Acrisure Arena does have one advantage over the Lahaina Civic Center: Except for Maui host Chaminade, it does not require college basketball teams to take a transpacific flight to get there.
Free advertising
Meanwhile, as the Maui Invitational does for Hawaii, the Acrisure Classic served as a commercial of sorts for the Palm Springs area.
The made-for-TV event was expected to attract about 2.9 million viewers, according to the Desert Sun, boosted by a platform on Fox and viewers who may have not changed the channel after Fox’s coverage of a preceding Packers-Lions NFL game.
Scott White, chief executive of Visit Greater Palm Springs, told the Desert Sun that hosting a major college basketball event in the area is like winning the lottery for the area.
“I don’t think local people will fully realize that millions of people will be watching this year’s Thanksgiving Day game, and the ones in the future, and learning all about this place where they live,” White said.
Good times
Even before the Suns and Lakers played the first basketball game at Acrisure last month, during the NBA’s exhibition season, the arena became home to the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds and hosted several major acts.
Comedians Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle opened the arena last December, while it has since hosted Sting, KISS, the Eagles and Lizzo, among others. Future dates with Stevie Nicks, Heart and Olivia Rodrigo are scheduled, too.
The Tucson Roadrunners played the Firebirds in the first hockey game in the building’s history last December.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd reacts during the second half his Wildcats’ win Thursday over Michigan State in Palm Desert, California. The Spartans erased a 15-point halftime lead to take the lead late in the second half, but Arizona prevailed 74-68.
The big number
0: Losses for UA coach Tommy Lloyd in the month of November as Arizona’s head coach, a span of 18 games dating back to the 2021-22 season.
Quotable
“We played Tennessee. Duke. JMU — don’t laugh, they’re really good. And Arizona. And we’ve said all along I think Arizona is the best team we’ve played so far.” — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo
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Check out the best plays and moments as the No. 21 Michigan State Spartans took on the No. 3 Arizona Wildcats.
