No. 1 Michigan State Faces Binghamton in Home Opener on Sunday

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State men's basketball returns to the Breslin Center on Sunday, Nov. 10 to face Binghamton University in its 2019-20 home opener.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will air live on BTN, with Brandon Gaudin and Stephen Bardo calling all of the action. The Spartan Sports Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at SpartanSportsNetwork.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard on Sirius, XM and Internet 84.

The Spartans opened up the 2019-20 season on Tuesday, falling to No. 2 Kentucky, 69-62, in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Rally Falls Short as MSU Falls to No. 2 Kentucky in Champions Classic

Senior guard Cassius Winston scored 21 points, but MSU's late rally against No. 2 Kentucky fell short in a 69-62 loss in the Champions Classic Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Winston was the lone Spartan in double figures with 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line.
A 9-0 Kentucky run pushed the lead to 54-41, but redshirt senior Kyle Ahrens drained a 3-pointer with 8:52 remaining to spark a 7-0 run by the Spartans.
Sophomore guard Aaron Henry rattled in his first 3-pointer of the game to cut the Kentucky lead to four with just over four minutes remaining and MSU pulled within 62-60 on a three-point play from Winston before Kentucky held on.
Sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. added a career high seven points and six rebounds, while Henry finished with nine points, two rebounds and three assists, junior forward Xavier Tillman had seven points and nine rebounds and sophomore forward Gabe Brown chipped in eight points and three rebounds.

MSU No. 1 in Preseason Polls

Michigan State's men's basketball team entered the 2019-20 season ranked as the No. 1 team in the country in the preseason poll released by the Associated Press on October 21 ... This is the first time in program history that MSU has opened the season as the preseason No. 1 team in the country in the AP poll.

About the Spartans

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 and forwards Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman.
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 ... He 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 Associated Press Preseason All-American and was named a First Team Preseason All-American by the Sporting News.
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.

Winston Earns National Accolades

Senior guard Cassius Winston has earned a slew of preseason awards entering the 2019-20 season.
Winston was selected as a Preseason First Team All-American by the Associated Press and was also tabbed a Preseason First Team All-American by the Sporting News.
He was also named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, was one of three unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten Team and was selected to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.

Series History

Michigan State and Binghamton will play for the second time in program history when the teams meet on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State has an all-time record of 8-1 against teams from the America East Conference.
The Spartans won the lone meeting between the teams, 76-33, on Dec. 5, 2015 at home.
Denzel Valentine had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Bryn Forbes scored 14 points as then-No. 3 Michigan State rolled over the Bearcats.

About Binghamton

This is Binghamton's 74th season of basketball and just its 19th at the Division I level.
The Bearcats were picked to finish tied for sixth out of nine teams in the America East Preseason Poll.
BU returns just one starter and two scholarship players from last season, when the team went 10-23 ... Due to an off-season cycle that included five graduations, three transfers, one late departure to international pro ball and a tragic death, Binghamton has a roster that is small in quantity and relatively inexperienced.
The 2019-20 team has 10 available scholarship players, eight of whom are newcomers to the program and seven of whom are underclassmen Sunday night's game will be the first time a Binghamton has ever played a team ranked No. 1 in the country.
The Bearcats opened their season on Nov. 5, falling to Cornell, 84-64.
Senior forward Pierre Sarr tied his career high with 16 points (6-of-12 FG), while senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. added 12 points (4-of-7 FG).
Sophomore guard Sam Sessoms, the reigning America East Rookie of the Year, was named to the six-player conference preseason team ... Sessoms ranked fifth in the nation in freshman scoring last year (17.8 ppg.) and was a third team all-conference selection.

No. 1 Michigan State Faces Binghamton in Home Opener on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Kyle Ahrens

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Aaron Henry

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Cassius Winston

No. 1 Michigan State Faces Binghamton in Home Opener on Sunday

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kyle Ahrens

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Aaron Henry

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Cassius Winston

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