No. 25 Michigan State Hosts Villanova in Gavitt Tipoff Games Friday Night

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team returns home for only its second home game in the month of November, hosting Villanova in the Gavitt Tipoff Games on Friday, Nov. 18 (8 p.m., FS1). The Spartans are coming off a thrilling 86-77 double overtime win over No. 4 Kentucky in the Champions Classic.

The game will air live on FS1, with Aaron Goldsmith and Bill Raftery 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 382 on SiriusXM and channel 982 on 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.
Graduate forward Joey Hauser, who scored 23 points and had eight rebounds in a win over Kentucky, leads the Spartans, and is 20th in the Big Ten, in scoring with 14.3 points per game, while adding 6.3 rebounds per game.. Hauser is No. 5 in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage (44.4%) and 7th in the league in 3-pointers made (2.67/game).
Senior forward Malik Hall, a preseason All-Big Ten selection, leads MSU in FG percentage (56.0%) and blocks (1.0 bpg). He is second on team in scoring with 12.0 points per game and is tied for second on the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg).
Junior forward Mady Sissoko, who had a career-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds with two assists and three steals in the Kentucky game, is third on the team with 11.3 points per game. Sissoko, who has connected on 64.7 percent of his shots, is 11th in the Big Ten with 7.7 rebounds per game, which leads the Spartans.
Junior guard A.J. Hoggard, who handed out a season-high nine assists in win over Kentucky on Tuesday night, is second in the Big Ten in assists per game, handing out 7.7 assists. Hoggard is 10th in Big Ten in free percentage (86.7%, 13-of-15), while averaging 8.3 points per game.
Senior guard Tyson Walker, in his second season at Michigan State after transferring from Northeastern, is fourth on the team with 10.7 points per game, while adding 3.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists. His 3-pointer in overtime in win over Kentucky moved him past 1,000-point mark for his career. Walker leads the Big Ten in minutes played (38.7 mpg) and steals (1.3 spg).

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 (a 64-63 loss) and No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday night (an 86-77 double overtime win).

Sissoko Helps Lead Michigan State Past Kentucky, 86-77, in Double Overtime Thriller

Junior forward Mady Sissoko scored seven of his 16 points in the second overtime period and Michigan State battled No. 4 Kentucky for an 86-77 win in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Graduate forward Joey Hauser scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead four players in double figures, while senior forward Malik Hall scored 20 points and had five rebounds, Sissoko finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists and senior guard Tyson Walker finished with 14 points and six assists.

About Villanova

Villanova enters Friday's game with a 2-1 overall record following a 60-50 win at home over Delaware State on Monday night.
VU opened the season with an 81-68 win over LaSalle before falling, 68-64 at Temple on Nov. 11.
The Wildcats were ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches preseason polls.
Graduate guard Caleb Daniels, a Tulane transfer, leads the team in scoring with 16.7 ppg and rebounding with 6.0 ppg.
Daniels is one of three starters playing at least 30 minutes per game, along with redshirt junior forward Eric Dixon (31.9 mpg), who leads the team with 18.3 ppg, and graduate forward Brandon Slater (31.9 mpg), who is averaging 12.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg.
Villanova's starters have played 77.3 percent of the team's minutes played ... The team's top reserve, Mark Armstrong, is averaging 5.0 points in 14.9 minutes, while freshman guard is averaging Brendan Hausen is averaging 3.5 points and scored 7 points in the win over Delaware State.
Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, guard Cam Whitmore, has not played this season due to right thumb surgery.

Series History

Villanova leads the head-to-head series, 3-1, and won the last meeting, 81-73, in the 2002 Great Alaska Shootout, MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo's lone game against the Wildcats.
The teams first played in 1966, at the Quaker City Tournament in Philadelphia, a 66-63 Nova win.
MSU's lone win in the series was a 70-63 decision at Villanova in the National Invitation Tournament Quarterfinals.

No. 25 Michigan State Hosts Villanova in Gavitt Tipoff Games Friday Night

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