Sunday, December 20
Evanston, Ill.
7 PM
Michigan State University
at
Northwestern
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
No. 4 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play on Sunday at Northwestern
12/19/2020 3:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – The No. 4-ranked Michigan State men's basketball team opens Big Ten Conference play on Sunday, Dec. 20, playing at Northwestern (7 p.m.). The Spartans, playing their first game in a week and for just the second time since Dec. 6, are ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll and No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
The game will air live on BTN, with Jeff Levering and Robbie Hummel calling all of the action. The TCF Bank Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at MSUSpartans.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.
Records
Michigan State, winners of its first six games, enters the game with a 6-0 record, while Northwestern enters the game at 3-1.
About the Spartans
The game will air live on BTN, with Jeff Levering and Robbie Hummel calling all of the action. The TCF Bank Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at MSUSpartans.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.
Records
Michigan State, winners of its first six games, enters the game with a 6-0 record, while Northwestern enters the game at 3-1.
About the Spartans
- The Spartans feature a balanced attack early in the season, with four players scoring in double figures, eight players averaging at least 5.0 points and nine players averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
- Redshirt junior forward Joey Hauser leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.3 points and 10.0 rebounds ... He has four double-doubles this year, including a career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds against Western Michigan on Dec. 6.
- Sophomore guard Rocket Watts has scored in double figures four times this season, including back-to-back games with 20+ points against Duke and Detroit Mercy ... He is second on the team with 12.8 points per game, while adding 4.5 assist.
- Junior forward Aaron Henry is averaging 12.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game.
- Junior forward Gabe Brown is averaging 10.7 points, graduate guard Joshua Langford adds 8.0 points and 2.4 rebounds and junior guard Foster Loyer is averaging 6.7 points and 2.5 assists
- Sophomore forward Malik Hall, who had his first career double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) at Duke, is averaging 6.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists and sophomore forward Julius Marble is averaging 5.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.2 minutes.
- Junior forward Aaron Henry is averaging 11.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and 2.3 steals per ]points in 7.5 minutes.
- Northwestern enters Sunday's game with a 3-1 overall record following a 100-48 win over Quincy College on Dec. 15.
- The Wildcats also have wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (92-49) and Chicago State (111-66) ... Their lone loss was a 71-70 decision at home to Pittsburgh in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge … The Wildcats led that game at halftime, 33-22, before the Panthers stormed back for the win.
- Northwestern has six players scoring in double figures, led by Miller Kopp (16.3 ppg) and redshirt sophomore guard Chase Audige (15.5 ppg).
- Sophomore guard Boo Buie is averaging 11.5 points and leads the team with 6.0 assists, while junior forward Pete Nance is averaging 10.0 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds.
- The game on Sunday, Dec. 20 between Michigan State and Northwestern will be the 132nd meeting between the schools.
- MSU leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 93-38, including a 37-30 advantage in games played at Northwestern.
- The Spartans have won the last 12 games in the series, including the last six at road.
- Northwestern's last win in the series at the Breslin Center was an 81-74 decision on Jan. 21, 2009.
- The Spartans have won 28 of the last 30, 35 of the last 38, and 55 of the last 59 contests.
- Tom Izzo is 38-4 in his career against Northwestern.
- Cassius Winston scored 18 points to lead three players in double figures as Michigan State used a big second half en route to a 79-50 win over Northwestern at the Breslin Center on Jan. 25, the second of two wins over NU during the season.
- The Spartans out-scored the Wildcats 46-28 in the second half ... Xavier Tillman Sr. added 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Foster Loyer finished with 12 points and four assists.
- In the first meeting, Winston scored 21 points as MSU held off NU, 77-72, on Dec. 18 ... Loyer (4) and Tillman (2) hit free throws in the final 33 seconds to secure the win.
- Michigan State is 16-9 in Big Ten Conference openers under Head Coach Tom Izzo.
- MSU won last year's Big Ten opener at home, beating Rutgers, 77-65.
- The Spartans are 7-8 in Big Ten road openers under Izzo.
- The last time MSU opened Big Ten Conference play on the road was in 2018-19, when the Spartans posted a 78-67 win at Rutgers.
Players Mentioned
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