No. 8 Michigan State Plays Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday Afternoon

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team returns to the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, on Saturday, Jan. 25, playing Rutgers in a Big Ten Conference game (CBS, 1:30 p.m.).

The game will air live on CBS, with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Jay Wright 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 channels 197 and 210 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters Saturday's game with an 16-2 overall record (7-0 B1G) and are No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
The Spartans are ranked No. 16 in the NCAA Net Rankings, No. 14 per KenPom.com and No. 15 in the ESPN BPI.
The Spartans, winners of 11-straight and 14 of their last 15 games, have just one player (Jaden Akins) scoring in double figures.
MSU is the only team in the AP Top 25 with just one player scoring in double figures and are just one of three teams in the AP Top 25 with at least 7 players averaging at least 7.8 ppg (Alabama and Missouri).
MSU has four players averaging at least 8.0 ppg and 10 scoring at least 4.6 ppg.
MSU has relied on its depth, with six players averaging at least 20.0 minutes per game and 10 players at least 10.0 minutes.
Akins leads the team with 13.9 ppg and is fourth with 3.9 rpg, while freshman guard Jase Richardson is averaging 9.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists, senior Frankie Fidler is scoring 9.0 ppg and sophomore forward Coen Carr is fourth on the team with 8.6 points.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler, who has four double-doubles this year, is scoring 7.9 ppg and leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game, 8th in the Big Ten (5th in B1G games only with 8.1 rpg).
Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is averaging 7.9 points and a team-leading 6.4 assists per game, which ranks 3rd in the Big Ten, while junior Tre Holloman adds 8.1 points and 3.8 assists (4.0 in B1G, T10th).
MSU is averaging 23.5 FT attempts per game (No. 35 in the country) after going to the line 17.2 times per game in 2023-24 and the Spartans rank No. 3 in the country in free throw percentage (81.3%) and No. 7 in free throws made per game (19.1).
The Spartans are No. 2 in the country in fast break points per game (18.4 ppg).
MSU also ranks No. 7 in the country in rebound margin (+9.7), No. 13 in defensive rebounds per game (28.4/g) and No. 17 in rebounds per game (40.7).

About the Scarlet Knights

Rutgers enters the game on Saturday afternoon with a 10-9 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the Big Ten Conference.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off an 80-72 loss at Penn State on Monday night.
Rutgers ended a three-game losing streak (at Indiana and Wisconsin and Purdue at home), beating UCLA (75-68) and posting an 85-82 win at Nebraska on Jan. 16.
Freshman forward Ace Bailey leads the team, and the Big Ten, with 19.4 points per game (20.8 ppg in B1G games) and is 9th with 7.9 rebounds, while classmate Dylan Harper is third in scoring (19.4 ppg) and tied for 8th in assists (4.3 apg).
Rutgers is 13th in the league in scoring offense (76.58 ppg) and 17th in scoring defense (74.89 ppg) ... In Big Ten games only, the Scarlet Knights are 17th in scoring offense (70.63 ppg) and 11th in scoring defense (76.63).

Series History

Michigan State and Rutgers meet for the 17th time in program history on Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans lead the head-to-head series, 13-3, and have won 12 of 15 meetings since Rutgers joined the Big Ten.
Michigan State posted a 73-55 win over Rutgers at home last year.
Rutgers posted a 61-55 win over MSU on Feb. 4, 2023 at Madison Square Garden.
The teams first played on Dec. 19, 1970, with MSU posting an 81-71 win to capture the team championship at the Lobo Invitational in New Mexico.

No. 8 Michigan State Plays Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

No. 8 Michigan State Plays Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday Afternoon

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Coen Carr

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Frankie Fidler

Tre Holloman

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

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