Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State And Providence Meet In Wooden Legacy Title Game
11/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| #3/4 Michigan State (6-0) vs. Providence (6-0) | |
| Date | Sunday, November 29, 2015 |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| Location | Anaheim, Calif. | Honda Center |
| Television | ESPN2 (Roxy Bernstein, Sean Farnham, Jeff Goodman) |
| Radio | Spartan Sports Network (Will Tieman, Gus Ganakas, Drew Neitzel) |
| Game Notes | Michigan State |
| Statistics | Michigan State | Providence |
| Social Media | @MSU_Basketball  | Facebook  | Instagram |
* Michigan State leads the all-time series with Providence, 3-0. The two teams have not met since the 1999 Puerto Rico Shootout, when the Spartans claimed an 82-58 victory on Nov. 25, 1999.
* Tom Izzo recorded his 500th-career victory in MSU's 99-68 win over Boston College, becoming the eighth coach to reach 500 career wins in his first 21 seasons.
* MSU owns a +20.2 rebounding margin leading the Big Ten and ranking second in the nation. MSU has out-rebounded all six opponents by at least a +8 margin.
* MSU leads the nation in assists, averaging 24.7 per contest. The Spartans have recorded an assist on 148 of 184 field goals. (80.4 percent). MSU has recorded 20 or more assists in every game.
* No MSU opponent has shot 50 percent or better from the field, and just two have even shot better than .362. Just one opponent has shot better than .333 from 3-point range.
* MSU grabs a remarkable 84.8 percent of its opponents' missed shots.
* Denzel Valentine leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.3 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg) and assists (9.2 apg). He also paces the conference at 3.5 made 3-pointers per game.
* Denzel Valentine is averaging 30.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists in three neutral-site contests, shooting .537 from the field and .533 from 3-point range.
* Tum Tum Nairn Jr. is averaging 11.0 points in the Wooden Legacy, totaling 15 assists and no turnovers.
* In the Wooden Legacy, MSU is shooting .544 from the field, .477 from 3-point range, and recording an assist on 51 of 62 field goals (82.3 percent).
* Deyonta Davis is averaging 11.0 points in the Wooden Legacy and has connected on 11-of-12 field goal attempts (.917).
* In just two games, Denzel Valentine has matched the Wooden Legacy tournament record with 13 3-point field goals, connecting on 61.9 percent of his attempts (13-21). His seven 3-pointers against Boise State tied the single-game tournament mark.
* With 453 career assists, Denzel Valentine is tied with Steve Smith for 10th place in MSU history. He is 13 assists shy of passing Keith Appling (465) for sole possession of ninth place.
* Denzel Valentine has either made or assisted on 51.6 percent of MSU's field goals.
* MSU ranks second in the Big Ten in 3-point field-goal percentage (.427), as eight different Spartans have made a 3-pointer this season. The Spartans have made nine or more 3-pointers in each of the last five games, including a season-high 11 vs. Boston College.
* Twelve Spartans have played in every game, with nine averaging double-figure minutes.
* Freshman Deyonta Davis ranks second in the Big Ten in blocks (2.7 bpg).
* MSU is 120-31 all-time in games played in November, including 85-25 under Tom Izzo.
* Following a 29-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist effort in just 29 minutes vs. Boston College, Denzel Valentine has two career triple-doubles. Earvin Johnson (eight), Draymond Green (three) and Charlie Bell (one) are the only other Spartans to accomplish the feat.
* MSU is one of five schools to be ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in both football and men's basketball as the Spartans are currently ranked No. 3 in basketball and No. 6 in football.
* Since the 1997-98 season, the Spartans have played 199 games against ranked opponents. That total ranks first among teams that have appeared in a Final Four since then. The Spartans are followed by North Carolina (182), Texas (174), Duke (173) and Kentucky (170).
* Michigan State has had just two basketball coaches in the last 40 seasons and three in the last 47. Tom Izzo is in his 21st season, having taking over from his mentor Jud Heathcote, who spent 19 years as head coach (1976-95). Before Heathcote, Gus Ganakas spent seven seasons as head coach.
* Bryn Forbes is shooting .420 from 3-point range for his career, having made a 3-pointer in 97 of 109 games.
* Matt Costello ranks fifth in MSU history with 107 blocks. Draymond Green ranks fourth with 117 blocks. Branden Dawson is the MSU career leader with 142 blocks.
* Denzel Valentine ranks 37th in MSU history with 1,172 career points, needing five points to pass Lee Lafayette (1,176), 12 points to pass Shannon Brown (1,183), 14 to pass Mike Peplowski, and 24 points to pass Kelvin Torbert and Alan Anderson (1,195).
* MSU grabs 39.6 percent of its missed shots on the offensive glass.
