Spartans Face Off against No. 2 Purdue on Saturday Night

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team returns to the court for the first time in six days, traveling to play at No. 2/3 Purdue in its second-to-last regular season game of the season on Saturday, March 2 (FOX, 8 p.m.). The Spartans, coming off a 60-57 loss to Ohio State at home, have won three of the last five games, eight of the last 12 and 13 of the last 19 games overall.

The game will air live on FOX, with Jason Benetti and Jim Jackson 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 Blake Froling is the studio host. The game can also be heard on channel 386 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters Saturday's game at Purdue with a 17-11 overall record (9-8 B1G).
MSU is No. 24 in the NET rankings, including No. 21 in NET Strength of Schedule.
The Spartans are No. 19 in KenPom and No. 18 in the ESPN College Basketball Power Index.
The Spartans are No. 14 in the BartTorvik.com tempo free stats, No. 29 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 16 in defensive efficiency.
MSU ranks No. 30 in the country in FG% defense (40.6%) and No. 35 in scoring defense (66.0 ppg), No. 53 in FG% (47.3%), No. 45 in 3-point percentage (36.7%), No. 24 in assists (16.7 apg) and No. 8 in assist/turnover ratio (1.69).
The Spartans have four players scoring in double figures, and 10 with at least 3.0 points, while nine players average at least 10 minutes per game.
Through 28 games, graduate guard Tyson Walker leads the team in scoring with 18.1 points per game, connecting on 45.3 percent of his shots ... In Big Ten games, Walker is averaging 16.9 ppg and 2.8 assists, while shooting 43.2 percent from the floor.
Graduate forward Malik Hall, who has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 13 games and 14 of the last 16 overall, is second on the team with 12.9 points, while adding 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists ... In league games, Hall is averaging 15.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 2.1 apg.
In the last 15 games, Hall is averaging 15.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg and shooting 58.5% from the field, including 54.5% 3FG.
Senior guard A.J. Hoggard is third on the team with 11.2 points, while adding 3.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists, which ranks fifth in the B1G.
Junior guard Jaden Akins, who scored a career-high 23 points against Michigan and has been in double figures in 12 of the last 18 games, is fourth on the team with 10.8 points and 3.7 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Tre Holloman is averaging 5.4 points and is third on the team with 2.7 assists.
Senior forward Mady Sissoko adds 3.7 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds, while sophomore center Carson Cooper adds 3.6 points and 4. Rebounds.

About Purdue

Purdue enters the game on Saturday night with a 25-3 overall record and a 14-3 mark in the Big Ten Conference following an 84-76 win at Michigan on Sunday.
The Boilermakers, ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 3 in the ESPN Coaches poll, have won their last two games and 11 of the last 12 overall, the lone loss at Ohio State (73-69) on Feb. 18.
Purdue is 14-0 at Mackey Arena, including an 8-0 mark in conference play.
The Boilermakers rank first in the Big Ten in scoring offense (84.8 ppg) and are No. 8 in the league in scoring defense (70.1 ppg) ... In league games only, Purdue is No. 2 in the league in scoring offense (83.7 ppg) and No. 5 in scoring defense (72.8 ppg).

Series History

When Michigan State and Purdue play on Saturday, it will be the 132nd meeting in program history.
Purdue leads the all-time series with Michigan State, 75-56, and has won the last three games, seven of the last eight and nine of the last 12 overall.
The Spartans are 18-46 in games played at Mackey Arena.
The Spartans have lost the last six games at Mackey Arena.
MSU's last win at Purdue was a 94-79 decision on February 20, 2014.
Tom Izzo is 28-23 in his career against Purdue.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

Malik Hall

A.J. Hoggard

Tre Holloman

Mady Sissoko

Tyson Walker