No. 25 Michigan State to Face No. 4 Kentucky in Champions Classic

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team plays No. 4 Kentucky in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (7 p.m., ESPN). The Spartans are coming off a 64-63 loss to No. 2 Gonzaga in the 2022 Armed Forces Classic – Carrier Edition aboard the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on Veterans Day (11/11/22).

The game will air live on ESPN, with Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Holly Rowe 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 Kevin Pauga serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard on channel 83 on SiriusXM and the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

The Spartans return nine letterwinners from last year's team that finished 23-13 overall and 11-9 in the Big Ten and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 24th-straight season ... That sits as the second-longest active streak in Division I, tied for the third-longest in NCAA history and the longest streak in Big Ten history.
Head Coach Tom Izzo welcomes back five players who started at least one game last year, and a trio of seniors – forwards Malik Hall and Joey Hauser and guard Tyson Walker – who have combined to play 283 games and started 182 games in their careers.
Hall was one of 11 players selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten men's basketball team on Oct. 6 ... This is the second career All-Big Ten honor for Hall, who was an honorable mention selection for his performance during the 2021-22 season ... Hall is among the most experienced players on the MSU roster entering the 2022-23, with 95 career games played as a Spartan ... He has a career average of 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds.
The Spartans have two players scoring in double figures, three more averaging at least 9.0 points, one averaging at least 8.0 points.
Through two games, junior guard A.J. Hoggard leads the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and assists (7.0 apg), while graduate forward Joey Hauser is averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Sophomore guard Pierre Brooks II is averaging 9.5 points, while senior guard Tyson Walker is adding 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists and junior forward Mady Sissoko, who had 14 points and nine rebounds against Gonzaga, is averaging 9.0 points and leads the team with 7.5 rebounds.
Senior forward Malik Hall is averaging 8.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks and sophomore guard Jaden Akins adds 5.5 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Nation's Toughest November

MSU opens its season by playing six of its first eight games away from home against one of its toughest schedules ever.
The Spartans are scheduled to play six teams who were ranked in the preseason Associated Press poll.
Since 2009-10, the Spartans are one of six teams (including the 2016-17 Spartans) to play at least four AP ranked opponents in the month of November.
MSU is the ONLY team to play two teams in the top 4, with No. 2 Gonzaga last Friday and No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday night.

Michigan State Falls to Gonzaga, 64-63, in Armed Forces Classic

Michigan State had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but its shot was off the mark and No. 2 Gonzaga escaped with a 64-63 win over the Spartans in the Armed Forces Classic, held on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on Friday evening.
Junior forward Mady Sissoko scored 14 points and had nine rebounds to lead the Spartans, while junior guard A.J. Hoggard 12 points and six assists, senior guard Tyson Walker added 12 points and senior forward Malik Hall finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

About Kentucky

Kentucky enters the game on Tuesday night with a 2-0 record following wins over Howard (95-63) and Duquesne (77-52) to start the season.
The Wildcats were ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches preseason polls.
Senior guard Antonio Reeves (an Illinois State transfer) and redshirt senior CJ Fredrick (Iowa) lead the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 20.0 points and 17.0 points per game, respectively ... The guards have combined to hit more than 50 percent of their 3-point attempts (16-of-30, 53.3%).
Kentucky has not had senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe play yet this season ... A preseason Player of the Year candidate, Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds last year.
Toppin, a Rhode Island transfer, is averaging 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds through two games, while 6-11, 225-pound freshman Ugonna Onyenso has played 19 minutes and is averaging 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Freshman guard Cason Wallace has averaged 31 minutes in the first two games, with 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists.

Series History

Kentucky leads the head-to-head series, 14-11, including a 2-1 mark in Champions Classic games.
The Wildcats have won the last two games, but the teams have split the last eight meetings, with seven of those games either decided by fewer than 10 points or overtime (a 94-82 MSU overtime win in the 2005 NCAA Tournament).
The game against Kentucky will be the 70th all-time for Michigan State against a team from the Southeastern Conference … The Spartans have an all-time record of 42-27 record against teams from the SEC.
Tom Izzo has an all-time record of 20-6 against teams from the SEC.

No. 25 Michigan State to Face No. 4 Kentucky in Champions Classic

Next Event

Related Videos