EAST LANSING – Arkansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Three marquee nonconference opponents scheduled, three wins for Michigan State.

The No. 7 Spartans (8-0) are heading into their last mega test outside Big Ten play and it comes against No. 4 Duke (9-0) on Saturday (noon, FOX) at the Breslin Center.

“This game has definitely been circled for a while,” said Michigan State freshman forward Cam Ward, who is expected to be back in the lineup this weekend amid a wrist sprain , “just because we know the type of players we’re about to play against.”

For all of Tom Izzo’s success as a Hall of Famer, the Michigan State coach’s struggles against Duke are well documented. Now in his 31 st season leading the Spartans, Izzo is 3-14 against the Blue Devils overall, including 0-2 at home.

“Let

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