Wednesday, December 18
Evanston, Ill.
8 p.m.
Michigan State University
at
Northwestern
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
No. 15 Michigan State Plays at Northwestern on Wednesday Night
12/17/2019 12:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan State men's basketball returns to Big Ten Conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 18, traveling to play Northwestern. Tipoff at Welsh-Ryan Arena is slated for 8 p.m. (ET).
The Michigan State-Northwestern game will air live on BTN, with Dave Revsine and Robbie Hummel 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 83.
Records
Michigan State, winners of four of its last five games and ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches poll, enters Wednesday's game with a 7-3 overall record, while Northwestern is 5-4.
Last Time Out
Sophomore forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) scored 10 points and Michigan State had 12 players scored at least two points as the 16th-ranked Spartans cruised past Oakland, 72-49, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday afternoon. Henry scored eight of his 10 points in the second half while adding six assists and two rebounds. Junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) had nine points and 13 rebounds, senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) added nine points and four assists, sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) finished with nine points and six rebounds and sophomore forward Thomas Kithier (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
About the Spartans
The Michigan State-Northwestern game will air live on BTN, with Dave Revsine and Robbie Hummel 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 83.
Records
Michigan State, winners of four of its last five games and ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches poll, enters Wednesday's game with a 7-3 overall record, while Northwestern is 5-4.
Last Time Out
Sophomore forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) scored 10 points and Michigan State had 12 players scored at least two points as the 16th-ranked Spartans cruised past Oakland, 72-49, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday afternoon. Henry scored eight of his 10 points in the second half while adding six assists and two rebounds. Junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) had nine points and 13 rebounds, senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) added nine points and four assists, sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) finished with nine points and six rebounds and sophomore forward Thomas Kithier (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
About the Spartans
- Winston leads MSU, and ranks third in the Big Ten, in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game … Winston is also fourth in the league in assists, averaging 6.0 per game, and second in free throw percentage, connecting on 88.1 percent of his shots (37-of-42).
- Tillman is second on the team with 12.9 points per game (21st in the Big Ten) and tops the team, and is fourth in the Big Ten, with 10.1 rebounds per game, while adding 2.6 assists per game.
- Henry, who scored a season-high 18 points against Virginia Tech, is third on the team with 10.8 points per game, while adding 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
- MSU has five other players averaging at least 5.0 points per game, led by Brown, who is averaging 8.7 points and 4.1 rebounds.
- Freshman guard Rocket Watts (Detroit, Mich./SPIRE Academy [Ohio]) adds 6.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
- Freshman forward Malik Hall (Aurora, Ill./Sunrise Christian Academy [Kansas]), who had nine points and eight rebounds against Duke, is averaging 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds.
- Sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central), who has started the last five games and scored 13 points against Duke, is averaging 5.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.
- Kithier is averaging 5.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
- The game on Wednesday, Dec. 18 between Michigan State and Northwestern will be the 130th meeting between the schools.
- MSU leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 91-38, including a 36-30 advantage in games played on the road.
- The Spartans have won the last 10 games in the series, including the last four on the road.
- Northwestern's last win in the series was an 81-74 decision on Jan. 14, 2012.
- Northwestern enters Wednesday's game against Michigan State with a 5-4 overall record following a 72-54 win over SIU-Edwardsville on Sunday at home.
- The Wildcats opened the 2019-20 season with a home loss to Merrimack (71-61) before bouncing back to beat Providence (72-63).
- Including the win over SIUE, Northwestern has won three of its last five games, with victories at Boston College (82-64) and against Bradley (78-51) in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
- The Wildcats opened Big Ten Conference play on Sunday, Dec. 8, losing at Purdue, 58-44.
- Sophomore forward Pete Nance, the son of long-time NBA standout Larry Nance, is averaging 11.9 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game to lead NU.
- Freshman center Ryan Young, who scored 25 points in the win over SIUE on Sunday, is averaging 11.0 points and 6.7 rebounds, while sophomore forward Miller Kopp is third with 10.8 points per game, while adding 3.8 rebounds.
- Graduate guard Pat Spencer, who was an All-American lacrosse player at Loyola (Md.), has started every game and is averaging 10.2 points, leads the team with 4.1 assists and adds 3.8 rebounds.
- Freshman guard Boo Buie is adding 7.2 points.
- The Wildcats rank fifth in the Big Ten in scoring defense (62.1 ppg) and seventh in the league in field goal percentage defense (40.4 percent).
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