The game will air live on BTN, with Kevin Kugler, Stephen Bardo and Rick Pizzo calling all of the action. The TCF Bank Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard on channel 84 SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app.
About the Spartans
- Michigan State has won 14 of its last 21 games and enters the game on Friday with an 19-11 overall record, including an 11-8 mark in Big Ten play.
- The Spartans, who played one of the nation’s toughest schedules in the country to open the season, have faced the No. 1 toughest slate of opposing offenses in the country, the 20th-toughest slate of opposing defenses and rank No. 6 overall in strength of schedule, per KenPom.com.
- The Spartans are ranked No. 6 in the NET Strength of Schedule and have a combined 11 wins in Quadrant 1 & 2.
- Senior guard Tyson Walker was named Second Team All-Big Ten by the league’s coaches and the media, while junior guard A.J. Hoggard was a third team pick by the media and an honorable mention selection by the coaches and graduate forward Joey Hauser earned honorable mention honors from both the coaches and media.
- Through 30 games, Walker leads the team in scoring with 14.8 ppg, while adding 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
- Hauser is second on the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 7.0 boards per game, while shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and 45.9 percent from 3-point land … Hauser scored at least 20 points against Maryland, Ohio State and Michigan, becoming the first MSU player since Cassius Winston in 2020 to score at least 20 points in three-straight games.
- Hoggard is third on the team with 12.6 points, fifth with 3.8 rebounds and leads the team (and is 2nd in the Big Ten) with 6.1 assists per game … Hoggard is one of three Division I players in the country averaging at least 12.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 6.0 apg.
- Sophomore guard Jaden Akins is fourth on the team with 9.6 points and 3.9 rebounds.
- Senior forward Malik Hall is fifth on the team with 9.5 ppg and third with 4.2 rpg.
- Junior forward Mady Sissoko is averaging 5.0 points and is second on the team with 6.2 rebounds.
Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament
- The Spartans are looking to capture their seventh Big Ten Tournament championship, as they are the only Big Ten team with six tournament titles.
- In 24 previous years of the Big Ten Tournament, MSU has a record of 34-18.
- The Spartans won the tournament in 1999, 2000, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2019, and lost in the quarterfinals in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2017.
- MSU lost in the semifinals in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2018, and dropped the 2015 title game in overtime.
The Spartans as a No. 4 Seed, in Chicago
- This is the just the second time Michigan State has entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 4 seed (2008).
- The Spartans have been the No. 1 seed six times (1998, 1999, 2009, 2012, 2018 and 2019)
- Michigan State has a 14-7 record in the Big Ten Tournament when it has been played in Chicago.
- The Spartans have won three Big Ten Tournament titles – 1999, 2000 and 2019 – in Chicago.
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