UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team has officially announced that the team will play a pair of exhibition games against top-tier Division I programs to kick-off the 2016-17 season.

The Cardinals begin with a Wednesday, November 2 game game at Michigan State's Breslin Center at a time that's yet to be determined. SVSU then travels to Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday, November 5. Tip-off for that game is still not set.

Saginaw Valley last played the Spartans on November 2, 2010, with MSU coming out on top with an 88-44 final score. The Spartans finished runner-up in the 2016 Big 10 regular season standings and claimed the Big 10 tournament title. Michigan State is a two-time national champion (1979, 2000).

It will be the first time the Cards have taken on Butler in exhibition play. The Bulldogs, a member of the Big East conference, most recently posted back-to-back national runner-up finishes during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. 

The two games will provide Saginaw Valley with true challenges, as the Cardinals look to build on a very successful 2015-16 campaign in which they claimed the GLIAC championship and punched a ticket to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Frisco, Texas. 

Click here for the full 2016-17 SVSU Men's Basketball Schedule