No. 11 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play on Sunday Against Rutgers

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State men's basketball team opens Big Ten Conference play on Sunday, Dec. 8, hosting Rutgers at the Breslin Center. The game tips off at 7 p.m.

The Michigan State-Rutgers game 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 78, XM 195 and Internet 957.

Records
Michigan State enters Sunday's game with a 5-3 overall record, while Rutgers is 6-2.

Last Time Out
Michigan State pulled to within single digits early in the second half, but could not get any closer en route to an 87-75 loss to Duke in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge game at the Breslin Center Tuesday night … Junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) scored 20 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Spartans, while sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) added 13 points and three blocks and senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) chipped in with 12 points and seven assists.

About the Spartans

Senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) leads MSU, and ranks seventh in the Big Ten, in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game … Winston is also fourth in the league in assists, averaging 6.1 per game.
Junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) is second on the team with 13.3 points per game and tops the team, and is third in the Big Ten, with 9.8 rebounds per game, while adding 2.4 assists per game
Sophomore forward Aaron Henry (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis), who scored a season-high 18 points against Virginia Tech, is third on the team with 10.7 points per game, while adding 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
MSU has five other players averaging at least 4.0 points per game, led by sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville), who is averaging 8.0 points, 3.6 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 [Kan.]), who had nine points and eight rebounds against Duke, is averaging 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Catholic Central), who has started the last three games and scored 13 points against Duke, is averaging 5.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
Sophomore forward Thomas Kithier (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) is averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Series History

Michigan State leads the head-to-head series, 9-0, and has won all eight meetings since Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference.
The Spartans swept a pair of games last year, beating Rutgers on the road in late November, 78-67, and then posting a 71-60 win at the Breslin Center in February.
MSU won the first meeting between the teams last year, 78-67, on Nov. 30 in New Jersey.
After winning the first four meetings against Rutgers by at least 20 points when the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten Conference, the last four games in the series have been decided by nine points, including an MSU overtime win during the 2017-18 season.

About Rutgers

Rutgers enters Sunday's Big Ten opener with a 6-2 overall record following a 71-60 loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
The Scarlet Knights won three-straight games to open the season before losing to St. Bonaventure, 80-74, and bouncing back with three more wins.
Sophomore guard Ron Harper Jr. leads the team in scoring with 13.3 points and is second on the team with 6.6 rebounds.
Junior guard Geo Baker is second on the team with 13.0 points per game and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game … Baker leads Big Ten guards in blocks (1.0), is sixth in steals (1.6), eighth in assists and 10th in FT percentage (85.0).
Akwasi Yeboah is averaging 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds of the bench, while sophomore forward Myles Johnson is averaging 9.0 points, leads the team with 8.3 rebounds and has blocked 14 shots … Johnson is second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (72.1%), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.9), ninth in blocks (1.8) and 10th in rebounds (8.3).
Sophomore guard Montez Mathis has started all eight games and is averaging 8.1 points and 2.9 rebounds and is second in the Big Ten in steals (1.8).
Rutgers is third in the Big Ten in blocks (5.5), steals (7.4) and turnovers forced (15.4) and is fourth in scoring defense (61.3) … RU ranks 24th nationally in blocks (5.5) and 25th in rebounding margin (+8.6).
Rutgers is still a young squad, ranking 239th nationally in experience per Pomeroy … The starting lineup has featured one junior (Geo Baker) and four sophomores (Myles Johnson, Montez Mathis, Ron Harper Jr. and Caleb McConnell).

No. 11 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play on Sunday Against Rutgers

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Malik Hall

Aaron Henry

Thomas Kithier

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Rocket Watts

Cassius Winston

No. 11 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play on Sunday Against Rutgers

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Malik Hall

Aaron Henry

Thomas Kithier

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Rocket Watts

Cassius Winston

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