Michigan State to Play Albion in Exhibition Tuesday Night

Tuesday, October 29

East Lansing, Mich.

7 p.m.

Michigan State University

Albion (exhibition)

Michigan State to Play Albion in Exhibition Tuesday Night

10/28/2019 4:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team takes on Albion in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at the Breslin Center, its final tuneup before the 2019-20 season.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will air live on BTN Plus.

The Spartans begin the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll for the first time in school history. This is the eighth-straight year MSU has been ranked among the preseason top-25, the 20th time in the last 22 years under Head Coach Tom Izzo, the 14th among the top-10 teams and the 10th among the top-five teams.

Michigan State returns three starters from last year's team, which finished with a 32-7 overall record and advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for a nation's-best eighth time in the last 21 years. The Spartans won a share of the Big Ten Regular Season title, captured the Big Ten Tournament title, beat rival Michigan three times and won the NCAA Tournament East Regional with a thrilling victory over No. 1 seed Duke.

The Spartans return seven rotational players from last season, led by senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./ University of Detroit Jesuit) and forwards Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian).

Winston, the 2019 Big Ten Player of the Year, finished first on the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game and led the team in assists with 7.5 for the 2018-19 season. Winston led the Big Ten, and was No. 3 in the country, in assists per game. Winston was among 20 players selected to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year watch list for the second-straight year and was tabbed a consensus AP Preseason All-American for the 2019-20 season.

Winston was joined by Tillman on the Preseason All-B1G team. Tillman, who was named the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year last season, was also one of 20 players selected to the preseason watch list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year award. Tillman finished second on the team in rebounds with 7.3 rebounds per game and was fourth on the team in scoring with 10.0 points per game.

Albion and MSU will meet for the 11th time on Tuesday, and the first since 1945. MSU holds a 10-1 advantage over the Britons all-time, and posted a 58-38 win the last time the two teams met, on Jan. 22, 1945.

The Britons returns their top two scorers from a 2018-19 team that finished 19-9 and claimed the 2019 MIAA Tournament Championship. Junior guard Jamezell Davis Jr., a native of Ypsilanti, Mich., led the Britons in scoring (13.7 ppg) and assists (3.2 apg) last season. Senior forward Caden Ebeling averaged 13.4 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds for the Britons. Winstons' younger brothers, Zachary and Khy, are both guards for the Britons.

Michigan State plays No. 2 Kentucky in the Champions Classic in New York City on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to open the regular season.