EAST LANSING -- Instead of facing one of college basketball's iconic programs with a newly installed hall of famer on the bench, Michigan State will now open its holiday tournament with a decidedly less exciting opponent.

The Spartans will now face DePaul in the opening game of the PK80 tournament in November, ESPN announced on Tuesday.

Michigan State was originally scheduled to face Georgetown in the game, in what would have been one of Patrick Ewing's first games on the bench of his alma mater.

Now, Michigan State draws a Blue Demons program coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons. An ESPN release announcing the change did not reveal the reason Georgetown dropped from the tournament.

The rest of the tournament bracket remains the same. The winner of the Michigan State-DePaul game will face the winner of the UConn-Oregon game in a semifinal matchup. The winner of that game will then face either North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma or Portland in the championship game of the Victory Bracket.

The tournament, to be held in Portland, Oregon, is being held as an 80th birthday celebration for Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

The quarterfinal matchups are set for Nov. 23, followed by semifinal matchups the next day and championship games on Sunday, Nov. 26.