Michigan State Plays No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic on Tuesday Night

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Atlanta to play No. 1/1 Kansas in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at State Farm Arena (ESPN, 6:35 p.m.).

The game will air live on ESPN, with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Jess Sims 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 game can also be heard on channel 84 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

The Spartans opened the season with wins at home last week, beating Monmouth in the opener, 81-57, and following that up with a 96-60 win over Niagara on Nov.7.
Senior guard Jaden Akins tied his career-high with 23 points in the Monmouth win, while junior forward Jaxon Kohler set career-best numbers for points (20) and rebounds (13) in the Niagara win.
The Spartans played a pair of exhibition games ahead of the 2024-25 season, including a 70-53 at Northern Michigan on Oct. 13, the first time MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo coached a game at his alma mater.
The Spartans return eight letterwinners, add two transfers and five freshmen to last year's team that finished 20-15 overall and went to the NCAA Tournament for the 26th-straight time, the longest active streak in Division I.
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.
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 by 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 eight letterwinners, and welcomes five newcomers, two transfers and five 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 added 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.
Zapala, a 7-0, 245-pound center, 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 as Longwood won the Big South Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State in the Champions Classic

Michigan State is 5-8 all-time in the Champions Classic.
In last year's Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago, then No. 18 Michigan State lost to No. 9 Duke, 74-65, with Tyson Walker leading the Spartans (22 points).
Duke and Kansas have 8-5 records all-time in the Champions Classic, and Kentucky has a 5-8 record.

About the Jayhawks

Kansas enters the game on Tuesday night with a 2-0 overall record following a 92-89 win over North Carolina on Friday night at home ... KU opened the season with an 87-57 win over Howard on Nov. 4.
The Jayhawks are ranked No. 1 in the country in the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches poll.
Senior guard Zeke Mayo, who is averaging 26.0 minutes off the bench, is one of four players scoring in double figures, averaging 20.0 points per game.
Mayo (South Dakota State) is one of three transfers to the rotation for the Jayhawks, joined by junior guard Rylan Griffen (Alabama), who is averaging 5.5 ppg, and junior guard A.J. Storr (Wisconsin, St. John's), who is scoring 9.0 ppg, with 2.0 rpg and 2.5 apg.
Freshman forward Flory Bidunga is averaging 10.0 points and is tied for the team lead with 8.0 rebounds.

Against Kansas

Michigan State and Kansas have met 15 times prior to Tuesday night's game, with the Jayhawks leading the series, 8-7 … The teams are 2-2 in the Champions Classic.
The Jayhawks won the last game, 87-74, in New York City in 2021, and have won the last three.
MSU's last win in the series was a 79-73 win in the 2015 Champions Classic in Chicago behind a triple-double from Denzel Valentine (29 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists).

MSU vs. No. 1

Michigan State is 5-22 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25.
MSU defeated No. 1 Indiana State in the 1979, NCAA Championship game, No. 1 Wisconsin on Feb. 20, 2007 in East Lansing, No. 1 Louisville in the 2009 NCAA Elite Eight, No. 1 Kentucky on Nov. 12, 2013, in the Champions Classic in Chicago and, most recently, No. 1 Duke in the 2019 NCAA East Regional Final, 68-67, in Washington, D.C.
Tuesday night's game is the fourth time the Spartans have played a No. 1 team in the Champions Classic.

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Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Tyson Walker

Szymon Zapala