Michigan State Visits Northern Michigan on Sunday in Superior Dome Showdown for Exhibition Game

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team travels to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for its first exhibition game of the 2024-25 season, visiting Northern Michigan University for the Superior Dome Showdown on Sunday, Oct. 13 (1 p.m.).

The game will air live on BTN with Lisa Byington and Bill Raftery calling all of the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst and Zach Surdenik is the studio host.

The exhibition game will be the first visit for 30th-year Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo to his alma mater to coach a game. Izzo was a 1977 graduate of Northern Michigan.

This is the first of two exhibition games for the Spartans, who play its second exhibition game on Oct. 29, hosting Ferris State at the Breslin Center.

About the Spartans

Michigan State finished the 2023-24 season with a 20-15 overall record, including a 10-10 mark in the Big Ten Conference to finish tied for sixth place in the league.
The Spartans were selected for the NCAA Tournament for the 26th-straight season, the longest streak in Big Ten Conference history, the third-longest in NCAA history and officially recognized by the NCAA as the longest active streak.
MSU beat Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to North Carolina in the second round.
The Spartans will replace four starters who accounted for 61.7 percent of the team's scoring last year, 48.6 percent of the team's rebounds and 64.2 percent of the team's assists, led by guard Tyson Walker (All-Big Ten Second Team).
MSU returns three players who started games last year, led senior guard Jaden Akins, who finished fourth on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game while adding 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and tying for the team lead in 3-pointers made (64) … He was the only player to start all 35 games last year.
Michigan State also returns seven letterwinners, and welcomes five newcomers, two transfers and three freshmen.
Junior guard Tre Holloman emerged as a key player in the rotation as a sophomore, averaging 19.7 minutes per game while contributing 5.7 ppg, finishing second on the team with 2.4 apg and leading the team in 3-point field goal percentage (42.5%).
Junior center Carson Cooper started the final four games of the season and appeared in all 35 games, averaging 3.4 points and 4.4 rebounds overall.

MSU Adds Two Transfers

MSU welcomes in a pair of transfers in senior forward Frankie Fidler (Omaha) and senior center Szymon Zapala (Longwood/Utah State).
Fidler, a 6-7, 217-pound forward, spent three years at Omaha and was named First Team All-Summit League in 2023-24 after averaging 20.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Fidler started all 33 games for the Mavericks, connecting on 45.2 percent of his field goals, 35.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and a team-best 85.4 percent of his free throws (216-of-253).
Zapala comes to Michigan State after one season at Longwood University in Virginia, helping guide the team to a 21-14 record as the Lancers won the Big South Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
A 7-0, 240-pound center who hails from Poland, Zapala averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 16.7 minutes, connecting on 62.9 percent of his shots from the floor and starting in 23 of 35 games.

Three Newcomers Make Up Freshman Class

The Spartans' recruiting class has been recognized nationally as one of the top-20 in the country (No. 16 by 247 Sports and No. 19 by ON3 Sports)
The class includes guards Jase Richardson (the son of former Michigan State All-American Jason Richardson) and Kur Teng, along with forward Jesse McCulloch.

Michigan State Exhibition History

Michigan State has played in-state exhibition games against 10 different schools in Michigan.
Sunday's game at Northern Michigan will be the seventh meeting with the Wildcats but the first in Marquette.
The teams last met on Oct. 30, 2018, a 93-47 MSU win at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State Visits Northern Michigan on Sunday in Superior Dome Showdown for Exhibition Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jesse McCulloch

Jase Richardson

Kur Teng

Tyson Walker

Szymon Zapala

Michigan State Visits Northern Michigan on Sunday in Superior Dome Showdown for Exhibition Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jesse McCulloch

Jase Richardson

Kur Teng

Tyson Walker

Szymon Zapala

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