Michigan State University Athletics
Tuesday, October 30
East Lansing, Mich.
7 p.m.
Michigan State University
vs
Northern Michigan
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Michigan State to Play Northern Michigan in Exhibition Tuesday Night
10/29/2018 6:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Michigan State's men's basketball team plays Northern Michigan in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the Breslin Center, its final tuneup before the start of the 2018-19 regular season.
The Spartans are ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Preseason poll and in the USA Today Coaches poll.
Michigan State returns three starters from last year's team, which finished with a 30-5 overall record and won the Big Ten Regular Season Championship, posting a 16-2 record in league play.
The Spartans return seven rotation players who have started more than 180 games, led by a trio of juniors – guards Joshua Langford (Huntsville, Ala./Madison Academy) and Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) and forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) – who have combined to start 156 games.
Despite losing a pair of NBA lottery picks from the 2017-18 team, MSU returns 59.4 percent of its scoring from last year, 57.2 percent of its rebounding, 57.0 percent of its assists and 60.7 percent of its 3-point field goals made.
Ward and Winston were among 10 players selected to the Preseason All-BIG 10 Team at the league's media day earlier this month in Chicago.
Ward was a Big Ten honorable mention selection by the coaches and a third team honoree by the media last season. He appeared in all 35 games, starting, 34, and finished third on the team in scoring with 12.4 points and led the team with 7.1 rebounds, adding 1.3 blocks per game in 18.9 minutes. He led the team with eight double-doubles and has 20 games with double figure scoring.
Winston was an All-Big Ten Third Team honoree last season and was selected to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District V team. Finishing second on the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game, Winston led the team with 6.8 assists per game and in 3-point field goal percentage, connecting on 49.7 percent of his shots from long distance (75-of-151). Winston led the Big Ten, and was No. 8 in the country, in assists per game.
Ward was selected to the Preseason Watch List for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, while Winston was selected to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
Northern Michigan, the alma mater of MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo, will play the Spartans for the sixth time in an exhibition. The last time the teams met, Michigan State posted a 94-53 win during the 2015-16 season.
Northern Michigan returns a veteran lineup and bring back its top two scorers from a 2017-18 team that went 15-13. Senior guard Isaiah Johnson led the team in both scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) last season. Senior guard Naba Echols also averaged 17.5 points, while leading the team in assists per game with 3.4. Echols was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Echols and Johnson were both named First Team All-GLIAC last season. The Wildcats were selected to finish second in the GLIAC North Division this season.
Michigan State plays No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis, Ind. on Tuesday, Nov. 6 to open the regular season.
The Spartans are ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Preseason poll and in the USA Today Coaches poll.
Michigan State returns three starters from last year's team, which finished with a 30-5 overall record and won the Big Ten Regular Season Championship, posting a 16-2 record in league play.
The Spartans return seven rotation players who have started more than 180 games, led by a trio of juniors – guards Joshua Langford (Huntsville, Ala./Madison Academy) and Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) and forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) – who have combined to start 156 games.
Despite losing a pair of NBA lottery picks from the 2017-18 team, MSU returns 59.4 percent of its scoring from last year, 57.2 percent of its rebounding, 57.0 percent of its assists and 60.7 percent of its 3-point field goals made.
Ward and Winston were among 10 players selected to the Preseason All-BIG 10 Team at the league's media day earlier this month in Chicago.
Ward was a Big Ten honorable mention selection by the coaches and a third team honoree by the media last season. He appeared in all 35 games, starting, 34, and finished third on the team in scoring with 12.4 points and led the team with 7.1 rebounds, adding 1.3 blocks per game in 18.9 minutes. He led the team with eight double-doubles and has 20 games with double figure scoring.
Winston was an All-Big Ten Third Team honoree last season and was selected to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District V team. Finishing second on the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game, Winston led the team with 6.8 assists per game and in 3-point field goal percentage, connecting on 49.7 percent of his shots from long distance (75-of-151). Winston led the Big Ten, and was No. 8 in the country, in assists per game.
Ward was selected to the Preseason Watch List for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, while Winston was selected to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
Northern Michigan, the alma mater of MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo, will play the Spartans for the sixth time in an exhibition. The last time the teams met, Michigan State posted a 94-53 win during the 2015-16 season.
Northern Michigan returns a veteran lineup and bring back its top two scorers from a 2017-18 team that went 15-13. Senior guard Isaiah Johnson led the team in both scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) last season. Senior guard Naba Echols also averaged 17.5 points, while leading the team in assists per game with 3.4. Echols was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Echols and Johnson were both named First Team All-GLIAC last season. The Wildcats were selected to finish second in the GLIAC North Division this season.
Michigan State plays No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis, Ind. on Tuesday, Nov. 6 to open the regular season.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 22
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