Monday, November 7
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
vs
Northern Arizona
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell
Men’s Basketball Opens Season on Monday, Hosts Northern Arizona
11/6/2022 1:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team will host Northern Arizona in the first game of the 2022-23 season on Monday, Nov. 7 (7 p.m.). Following the NAU game, MSU will play six of its next seven games away from home.
The game will air live on B1G+, with Brendan Schabath, Zach Surdenik and Veronica Bolanos 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.
About the Spartans
The game will air live on B1G+, with Brendan Schabath, Zach Surdenik and Veronica Bolanos 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.
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 278 games and started 177 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.
- Hall is expected to be joined in the starting lineup by graduate forward Hauser, who enters his third year at MSU ...The 6-9 forward averaged 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds last year in 22.2 minutes per game.
- Walker appeared in all 36 games last year, starting 28 times and finishing third on the team in minutes played (22.6 mpg) ... He was fifth on the team in scoring with 8.2 points per game and second on the team with 4.3 assists per game.
- Also back for the Spartans is junior guard A.J. Hoggard, who started eight games last year and finished the season averaging 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and led the team with 4.8 assists in 20.3 minutes per game ... He was ranked No. 1 in the country per kenpom.com in assist rate (46.0 percent).
- Sophomore guards Jaden Akins and Pierre Brooks II, along with junior center Mady Sissoko, are expected to play significant minutes this season ... Akins, who is recovering from surgery in the off-season, averaged 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds last year.
- The Spartans welcome four freshmen to the 2022-23 team ... The freshmen class includes a group of players expected to make contributions immediately: forward Jaxon Kohler, guard Tre Holloman and center Carson Cooper, as well as walk-on guard Nick Sanders.
- Michigan State had all five starters score in double figures and used a big second half en route to a 73-56 win over Grand Valley State in an exhibition game on Nov. 1 at the Breslin Center.
- Senior forward Malik Hall scored 15 points, had three rebounds and two assists to lead the way, while junior guard A.J. Hoggard scored 14 points, handed out five assists and had four steals.
- Junior center Mady Sissoko finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, while senior guard Tyson Walker had 12 points, four assists and six steals and graduate Joey Hauser added 10 points and four rebounds.
- The game against Michigan State on Monday night is just the second-ever against a Big Ten school for NAU (a 79-74 loss to Northwestern in 1987).
- Northern Arizona returns all five of its primary starters from the 2021-22 season in junior guard Jalen Cone, redshirt senior forward Nik Mains, redshirt sophomore forward Carson Towt, redshirt junior forward Keith Haymon and redshirt sophomore center Ezekiel Richards.
- In total, the Lumberjacks return seven players to the roster while adding 10 newcomers to the roster.
- Coming off of a 9-23 overall record, including a 5-15 mark in the Big Sky Conference, the Lumberjacks were voted to finish eighth by the media and in a tie for seventh by the coaches.
- Cone was named to the Preseason Big Sky All-Conference Team and enters the season as one of the conference's top players.
- Mains and Towt started all 32 games last season while Cone started 31 of 32. Haymon, a starter in 25 games last year and 12 during the 2020-21 season.
- Among Northern Arizona's 10 additions are a trio of Division I transfers, with Xavier Fuller arriving from South Dakota, Liam Lloyd transferring in from Grand Canyon and Trent McLaughlin returning to his home state from Central Connecticut State.
- Monday's game will be the first meeting ever between Michigan State and Northern Arizona.
- The Spartans have a 6-2 all-time record against teams from the Big Sky Conference, the lone losses come to Weber State.
- MSU's last win over a team from the Big Sky was a 100-62 decision over Idaho in 2008.
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