No. 21 Michigan State Takes on No. 3 Arizona in Thanksgiving Day Tilt

East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State's men's basketball, ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 19 in the ESPN Coaches poll, plays its second game away from home this season on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 23 against No. 3/3 Arizona in the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.

The game will be broadcast live on FOX at 4 p.m. ET, with Adam Amin and Jim Jackson on the call. The action will also be transmitted on Spartan Media Network Radio, which can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, as Will Tieman and Matt Steigenga calling the game with Blake Froling as the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 137 or 195 on Sirius XM and the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters Sunday's game against Arizona with a 3-2 overall record following an 81-49 win over Alcorn State on Sunday night in the Acrisure Classic opener, despite the absence of leading-scorer Tyson Walker (illness).
The Spartans, who entered the 2023-24 season ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press and the ESPN Coaches preseason polls, were ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the coaches poll on Monday.
After losing the season opener to James Madison, the Spartans have won three of the last four games, the lone loss a 74-65 decision to then-No. 9 Duke in the Champions Classic.
The Spartans return four starters and 11 letterwinners and welcome in a recruiting class that has been rated among the top-five in the country to a team that went 21-13 last year and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
This year, the Spartans return 74.9 percent of the team's scoring (1,805 of 2,411 points), 66.9 percent of the team's rebounds (606 of 906) and 85.1 percent of the team's assists (423 of 497).
The Spartans have two players scoring in double figures, four averaging at least 8.0 points and nine with at least 3.0 points, while 10 players average at least 10 minutes per game.
Through five games, graduate guard Tyson Walker leads the team in scoring with 23.0 points per game, connecting on 53.8 percent of his shots.
Graduate forward Malik Hall is second on the team with 10.0 points, while adding 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Junior guard Jaden Akins is averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds (13th in the Big Ten) and senior guard A.J. Hoggard is adding 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and a team-leading 4.6 assists, good for fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game.
Sophomore center Carson Cooper moved into the starting lineup for the first time in his career last Friday against Butler and provided instant results for the Spartans inside, now averaging eight rebounds and two blocks across his first two starts.

About Arizona

Arizona enters the game on Thursday with a 5-0 record and the Wildcats are ranked No. 3 in the country in the Associated Press and the ESPN Coaches polls.
The Wildcats have won four games at home and one road game, a 78-73 victory at Duke.
The Wildcats have six players scoring in double figures for an offense that is averaging 99.6 points per game, which ranks No. 3 nationally.
Arizona also ranks No.6 nationally in assists per game (22.6) and No. 20 in field goal percentage, connecting on 52.4 percent of its shots.

Against Arizona

This will be the eighth meeting all-time between Michigan State and Arizona.
The Wildcats lead the head-to-head series, 5-2, but MSU has won two of the last three meetings.
The teams last played in the season opener of the 2016-17 season, a 65-63 Arizona win in the Armed Forces Classic in Hawaii.
The last two meetings between the two storied programs have been on a neutral court with the two splitting the games.

MSU during "Feast Week"

Michigan State is 30-9 since 2007 in "Feast Week" invitational tourney games, a tradition for the Spartans in the week around and leading up to Thanksgiving, matching up with other top programs from around the country on neutral courts.
In recent years MSU has been invited to and collected multiple wins at each of the three most prestigious "Feast Week" tournaments; The Phil Knight Invitational, the Battle 4 Atlantis and the Maui Invitational.
In the Izzo era Michigan State is 8-3 on Thanksgiving Day since 1995, having won three of the last four. The Spartans have split the last two Turkey-day games in which they entered as the lower-ranked team.

No. 21 Michigan State Takes on No. 3 Arizona in Thanksgiving Day Tilt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

Malik Hall

A.J. Hoggard

Tyson Walker

No. 21 Michigan State Takes on No. 3 Arizona in Thanksgiving Day Tilt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

Malik Hall

A.J. Hoggard

Tyson Walker

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