No. 19 Michigan State Hosts Penn State on Saturday in Big Ten Home Opener

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team plays its Big Ten Conference home opener on Saturday, Dec. 11, hosting Penn State. The Spartans opened conference play with a 75-67 win at Minnesota on Wednesday.

The game will air live on BTN, with Jeff Levering and Brian Butch 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 372 and on channel 372 on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters the game on Saturday with an 8-2 overall record, and wins in eight of their last nine games.
The Spartans are ranked #19 in the Associated Press poll and #20 in the ESPN Coaches poll.
MSU is #16 in the NET Rankings and #1 in Strength of Schedule in the country among major conference teams.
MSU is No. 4 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency from KenPom.com, ranking among the nation's leaders in Block% (#14), 2PT% (#44), 3-point % (#24) and effective FG % (#14).
The Spartans have been led this year by a stingy defense, which ranks among the leaders in the Big Ten in scoring defense (No. 5, 63.9 ppg), field goal percentage defense (No. 2, 37.9%), 3-point field goal percentage defense (No. 3, 26.8%), rebounding margin (No. 3, +8.20 rpg) and blocked shots (No. 1, 6.70 bpg).
Senior forward Gabe Brown is one of two players scoring in double figures and one of eight players averaging at least 5.0 points per game ... He leads the team with 13.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games.
Senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. is second on the team with 10.1 points per game and leads the team with 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game.
Junior forward Malik Hall is third with 9.7 points, while freshman guard Max Christie is averaging 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds.
Junior forward Julius Marble is averaging 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds and redshirt senior forward Joey Hauser adds 6.1 points and is second on the team with 6.1 rebounds.
Junior guard Tyson Walker is averaging 6.7 points and leads the team with 4.7 assists, while sophomore teammate A.J. Hoggard is averaging 6.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds.
Following Saturday's game, the Spartans are off for 10 days, having played 11 games in 33 days ...

About Penn State

Penn State enters Saturday's game with a 5-4 overall record following a 74-54 win over Wagner on Wednesday night ... The Nittany Lions are 0-1 in Big Ten play, losing 76-64 to Ohio State on Dec. 5.
Penn State has four players scoring in double figures, led by junior forward Seth Lundy, who is averaging 14.3 points per game.
Two of Penn State's top four scorers are transfers, senior guards Sam Sessoms (Binghamton) and Jalen Pickett (Siena), while their rotation also includes senior forward Jalanni White (Canisius) and senior guard Jaheam Cornwall (Gardner-Webb).

Series History

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Penn State, 41-9.
The Spartans have won 25 of the last 31 games in the series, including 12 of the last 14.
Tom Izzo is 34-8 in his career against Penn State.
Michigan State is 25-2 in games played at the Breslin Center and has won nine of the last 10 at home.
The Spartans won the only meeting between the teams last year, beating the Nittany Lions, 60-58, at the Breslin Center.

No. 19 Michigan State Hosts Penn State on Saturday in Big Ten Home Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

A.J. Hoggard

Tyson Walker

No. 19 Michigan State Hosts Penn State on Saturday in Big Ten Home Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

A.J. Hoggard

Tyson Walker

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