No. 12 Michigan State Hosts No. 9 Wisconsin on Christmas Day

East Lansing, Mich. – The No.12-ranked Michigan State men's basketball plays its Big Ten Conference home opener on Friday, Dec. 25, welcoming No. 9 Wisconsin to the Breslin Center (12:30 p.m.). This is the first time MSU has ever played on Christmas Day.

The game will air live on FOX, with Brandon Gaudin and Jim Jackson 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 137, XM 195 and Internet 957.

Records
Michigan State enters the game with a 6-1 overall record and an 0-1 mark in the Big Ten following a 79-65 loss at Northwestern on Sunday. Wisconsin enters with a 7-1 overall mark and a 1-0 record in the Big Ten after a 67-53 win over Nebraska.

Last Time Out

The Spartans feature a balanced attack early in the season, with four players scoring in double figures, eight players averaging at least 4.9 points and nine players averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
Redshirt junior forward Joey Hauser leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.1 points and 8.9 rebounds ... He has four double-doubles this year, including a career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds against Western Michigan on Dec. 6.
Junior forward Aaron Henry is averaging 12.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.9 steals per game.
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 third on the team with 11.7 points per game, while adding 4.3 assists.
Junior forward Gabe Brown is averaging 10.6 points and 2.0 rebounds, graduate guard Joshua Langford adds 8.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.7 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Malik Hall, who had his first career double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) at Duke, is averaging 6.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists, junior guard Foster Loyer is averaging 6.6 points and 2.4 assists and sophomore forward Julius Marble is averaging 4.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.4 minutes.

Series History

Friday's game will be the 149th meeting all-time between Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Michigan State leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 83-65.
The Spartans are 20-12 in their last 32 games and have won eight of the last nine against the Badgers.
The home team has won 22 of the last 26 games played on a college campus, with the lone exceptions being MSU's wins in Madison in 2012, 2013, 2018 and 2019.
Tom Izzo is 32-21 in his career against Wisconsin.

About Wisconsin

Wisconsin enters Friday's game with a 7-1 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the Big Ten following a 67-53 win over Nebraska on Tuesday.
Dating back to last season, the Badgers have won their last nine Big Ten Conference games.
Wisconsin is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.
Wisconsin ranks 10th in the NCAA, shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point land, averaging 9.3 triples per game.
Led by Micah Potter (47.6% 3FG), each of UW's starters averages one or more made 3 per game.
The Badgers lead the Big Ten shooting 77.1% from the free throw line.
The Badgers lead the Big Ten and rank 14th in the NCAA, allowing just 57.5 ppg this season.

No. 12 Michigan State Hosts No. 9 Wisconsin on Christmas Day

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

Aaron Henry

Joshua Langford

Foster Loyer

Rocket Watts

No. 12 Michigan State Hosts No. 9 Wisconsin on Christmas Day

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

Aaron Henry

Joshua Langford

Foster Loyer

Rocket Watts

Related Videos