WIESBADEN, Germany — Two perennial NCAA Division-I basketball powerhouses have been cleared for tip-off at Ramstein Air Base on Nov. 9, according to U.S. Air Forces in Europe spokesman Juan Melendez.

The Armed Forces Classic matchup between the Michigan State Spartans and the University of Connecticut Huskies was announced earlier this year by ESPN, but it was dependent upon Defense Department approval.

“It will happen,” Melendez said Friday, adding that “it is a Ramstein Air Base event.”

The game, slated to air on ESPN, begins at 11:30 p.m. Central European Time.

Base officials say they have not determined how admission and tickets will be handled.

Last season, the Spartans opened the college basketball season against North Carolina on the deck of an active aircraft carrier.

“I’m looking forward to this,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun told ESPN. “We both consider ourselves national programs and we’re going across the sea to Germany. It’s a special thing for our [servicemen and women], a special game for our kids. We get to play a good team. There is an awful lot of good in this for all sides.”

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