Spartans to Play at Butler in Gavitt Tipoff Games on Wednesday Night

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team plays its first true road game of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 17, visiting Butler and famed Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. This is Head Coach Tom Izzo's first visit to Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The game will air live on FS1, with Joe Davis 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 XM 382 and on channel 972 on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

The Spartans are coming off a 90-46 win over Western Michigan on Friday night in their home opener.
Senior forward Gabe Brown scored 17 points to lead three players in double figures … Redshirt senior Joey Hauser had his fifth career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. added 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals ... Eleven different players scored for the Spartans, including nine players with at least five points.
Including the game at Butler, Michigan State is playing five of its first seven games away from home, including at Kansas in the Champions Classic and three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis
This is MSU's second time playing in the Gavitt Tipoff Games; the Spartans beat Seton Hall, 76-73, in 2019.
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo loves to play in arenas that have great history and stories ... On Wednesday night, he will make his first appearance at Butler's famed Hinkle Fieldhouse ... In his 27th year at the helm of the Spartans, Izzo will also be coaching his 900th career game when he takes the floor at Butler.
Michigan State posted a pair of wins in exhibition games to start the 2021-22 season, beating Ferris State, 92-58, on October 27 and following that up with an 83-60 win over Grand Valley State on Thursday, Nov. 4.
Freshman guard Max Christie averaged 15.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while connecting on 57.9 percent of his field goals (11-of-19) to lead three players in double figures.
Senior forward Gabe Brown averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, while hitting 58.8 percent of his shots (10-of-17), including 54.5 percent from 3-point land (6-of-11).
Redshirt senior forward Joey Hauser added 11.0 points and 7.5 rebounds and senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. added 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in 17.0 minutes.

About Butler

Butler enters Wednesday night's game with a 3-0 overall record following home wins over IUPUI (56-47), Central Arkansas (85-53) and Troy (70-59).
This will be the fourth-straight home game to start the season for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore guard Chuck Harris is one of three players scoring in double figures for Butler ... He leads the team with 15.7 points per game, is tied for the team lead with 3.3 assists and is second on the team with 4.7 rebounds.
Graduate guard Jair Bolden, a South Carolina transfer, is second on the team with 14.3 points per game and has connected on 58.8 percent of his 3-point attempts (10-of-17) ... Freshman guard Jayden Taylor is third on the team with 13.3 points per game.
Graduate forward Bryce Nze, a Milwaukee transfer, is fourth on the team with 8.3 points, but leads the team with 7.3 rebounds and is tied for the team lead with 3.3 assists

The Gavitt Tipoff Games

Michigan State's game against Butler on Wednesday night marks its second appearance in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games are an annual early-season series of eight games played between the Big Ten and BIG EAST Conferences and named in honor of BIG EAST founder and basketball visionary Dave Gavitt
This is the sixth season of the Gavitt Games (going from Monday, Nov. 15, through Thursday, Nov. 18).
Gavitt had a profound and lasting influence on the sport of basketball on the collegiate, professional and Olympic levels ... He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
In each of the first three seasons, the Big Ten and BIG EAST split the eight games, 4-4 ... In 2018 and in 2019, the Big Ten claimed victories in five of the eight games.

Series History

Wednesday's game at Butler will be just the second meeting between the teams in Tom Izzo's 27 years as head coach at Michigan State.
The game will be the 25th all-time meeting between the schools, with the Spartans leading the head-to-head series, 13-11.
The teams last met in the 2010 NCAA National Semifinals in Indianapolis, a 52-50 Bulldogs win.
The teams first met in 1927 and played 23 times at home and away until 1971 ... MSU is 4-8 all-time in the series on the road.
The last win for the Spartans at Butler was a 77-71 decision on Dec. 20, 1971.