Wednesday, December 8
Minneapolis, Minn.
9 p.m. ET
Michigan State University
at
Minnesota
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
No. 19 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Conference Play at Minnesota on Wednesday
12/7/2021 1:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team opens Big Ten Conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 8, visiting Minnesota (BTN, 9 p.m. ET).
The Spartans, ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 20 in the ESPN Coaches poll, are coming off an 81-68 win over Toledo and have won seven of their last eight games.
The game will air live on BTN, with Kevin Kugler 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 382 and on channel 972 on the SiriusXM app.
About the Spartans
The Spartans, ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 20 in the ESPN Coaches poll, are coming off an 81-68 win over Toledo and have won seven of their last eight games.
The game will air live on BTN, with Kevin Kugler 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 382 and on channel 972 on the SiriusXM app.
About the Spartans
- Michigan State enters the game on Wednesday with a 7-2 overall record, and wins in seven of their last eight games.
- Michigan State was rated No. 19 in the first NET Rankings and is #1 in Strength of Schedule in the country among major conference teams.
- MSU is No. 2 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency from KenPom.com, ranking among the nation's leaders in Block% (#10), 2PT% (#43), 3-point % (#25) and effective FG % (#15).
- The Spartans have been led this year by a stingy defense, which ranks among the leaders in the Big Ten in scoring defense (No. 4, 63.6 ppg), field goal percentage defense (No. 2, 37.7%), 3-point field goal percentage defense (No. 2, 26.8%), rebounding margin (No. 4, +7.44 rpg) and blocked shots (No. 1, 6.78 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 12.9 ppg.
- Senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. is second on the team with 10.6 points per game and leads the team with 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game.
- Junior forward Malik Hall is third with 9.1 ppg, while freshman guard Max Christie is averaging 8.9 ppg and 3.1 rpg.
- Junior forward Julius Marble II is averaging 6.4 ppg and 3.6 rpg and redshirt senior forward Joey Hauser adds 5.6 ppg and is second on the team with 6.0 rpg.
- Junior guard Tyson Walker is averaging 5.8 ppg and leads the team with 4.9 assists, while sophomore teammate A.J. Hoggard is averaging 6.4 ppg, 4.2 apg and 2.2 rpg.
- Minnesota enters the game on Wednesday with a 7-0 record following an 81-76 win at Mississippi State on Sunday and is one of 12 undefeated teams still remaining in Division I.
- The Golden Gophers have three players scoring in double figures, including Jamison Battle, who is averaging 17.9 points (5th in the Big Ten), and Payton Willis, who is scoring 17.4 points (6th in the Big Ten).
- Minnesota's current top four scorers are all transfers, Jamison Battle (George Washington), Payton Willis (Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Charleston), E.J. Stephens (Lafyette) and Sean Sutherlin (New Hampshire), as well senior guard Luke Loewe (William & Mary) and senior center Charlie Daniels (Stephen F. Austin).
- Michigan State is 16-10 in Big Ten Conference openers under Head Coach Tom Izzo.
- MSU lost last year's Big Ten opener, 79-65, at Northwestern.
- The Spartans are 7-9 in Big Ten road openers under Izzo.
- This is the second-straight year the Spartans are opening Big Ten Conference play on the road.
- The last time the Spartans lost a Big Ten Conference home opener was during the 2014-15 season, when Maryland beat MSU, 68-66.
- Wednesday's game will be the 135th meeting all-time between Michigan State and Minnesota.
- Michigan State leads the all-time series with Minnesota, 73-61.
- The Golden Gophers won last year's only meeting, 81-56, at Williams Arena and MSU is 27-37 all-time in Minneapolis.
- Michigan State has won five of the last six games between the teams and eight of the last 10 overall.
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