EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State plays its first game in a week, returning to the court for the back-end of the first two Big Ten Conference games of the season, visiting Penn State on Saturday, Dec. 13 (noon, BTN).
MSU opened Big Ten Conference play with a 71-52 win over Iowa on Dec. 2, their eighth-straight win to open the season, the program’s best start since winning the first 13 games of the 2015-16 season. Michigan State is one of three schools nationally with four Quad 1 wins (Duke and Vanderbilt).
Saturday’s game will air live on BTN, with Chris Vosters and former Spartan All-American Steve Smith 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, Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst and Zach Surdenik as the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 117 or 195 on SiriusXM or on the SiriusXM app.
About the Spartans
- Michigan State enters Saturday’s game with an 8-1 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the Big Ten Conference following a 66-60 loss at home to then-No. 4 Duke last Saturday.
- The Spartans are No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 9 in the ESPN Coaches poll.
- MSU is No. 11 in the NCAA Net Rankings and No. 12 per KenPom.
- The Spartans are one of only three teams nationally with four Quad 1 wins this season (Duke, Vanderbilt).
- The Spartans are No. 16 in the country in assists per game (19.2), with Jeremy Fears Jr. leading the country with 9.8 dimes per game.
- MSU ranks No. 10 in the country in rebound margin (+11.9), No. 8 in scoring defense (61.0 ppg) and ranks No. 6 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.
- Through nine games, the Spartans have four players scoring in double figures, seven averaging at least 5.4 ppg and nine averaging at least 11.0 minutes.
- Jaxon Kohler leads the team in scoring with 14.3 ppg and tops the team with 9.6 rpg (2nd B1G, #44 nationally).
- Kohler, who has four double-doubles, grabbed 18 rebounds against San Jose State, the most by an MSU player since Miles Bridges had 21 against Savannah State in 2018 … He had 20 points against Kentucky, his first career 20-point game.
- Jeremy Fears Jr., who leads the team with 31.3 minutes played, is second on the team with 11.6 ppg and is handing out 9.8 assists per game, leading all of Division I.
- Coen Carr, one of the most athletic players in all of college basketball, is third on the team with 11.1 ppg, third on the team with 5.0 rpg and second with 1.8 apg in 29.8 mpg.
- Carson Cooper, who had 16 points and a career-best 16 rebounds vs. Duke, is playing a career-high 24.6 minutes, is fourth on the team with 10.3 ppg and second with 7.1 rpg.
- Kur Teng, who scored a career-high 15 points against Kentucky, is averaging 5.4 ppg and Trey Fort is tallying 5.3 ppg.
- Cam Ward is fifth on the team with 7.9 ppg and fourth with 4.6 rpg, Divine Ugochukwu is averaging 3.9 ppg in 11.4 mpg and Jordan Scott adds 3.3 ppg and 3.2 rpg in 15.7 mpg.
Any One, Any Time, Any Place, Any Where
- Tom Izzo has consistently played one of the toughest schedules in America.
- With a willingness to play at home, on the road or a neutral site, his list of regular-season non-conference opponents reads like a who’s who of top college basketball programs.
- The 2025-26 home schedule is arguably the best in program history, with home non-conference games against Arkansas (W, 69-66) and Duke (L, 66-60) in addition to 10 Big Ten contests, Michigan State will host 12 power conference opponents for the first time in the Izzo Era.
- The Spartans played at Connecticut in an exhibition game (Oct. 28), played Kentucky in the Champions Classic (W, 82-66) at Madison Square Garden in New York City and played North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day (W, 74-58) in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
- Michigan State’s challenging schedule through the opening month-plus has provided opportunities for the Spartans as well.
- The Spartans are one of only three teams (Duke and Vanderbilt) nationally with four Quad 1 wins, notching wins over Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolin and Iowa.
- The Spartans, who have made the highest climb in the Associated Press poll from No. 22 in the preseason to a current rank of No. 9, have played five games against high-major opponents, including three-straight games (and four counting the meeting with Penn State on Saturday).
About Penn State
- Penn State enters the game on Saturday with an 8-2 overall record and an 0-1 mark in the Big Ten following a 113-72 loss at Indiana on Tuesday.
- The Nittany Lions, No. 110 in the NET Rankings and in KenPom, opened the season with five-straight wins (Fairfield, at New Haven, Navy, LaSalle and Harvard).
- After losing a neutral site game to Providence (77-65), the team reeled off three-straight wins at home (Boston U, Sacred Heart and Campbell) before losing the conference opener.
- In the offseason, Penn State added two transfers and seven freshmen, including four from southeastern Europe … Freshman guard Kayden Mingo leads the team in scoring.
- The Nittany Lions are No. 2 in the country, with just 8.8 turnovers per game and lead the Big Ten Conference with 8.1 steals per game.
Against the Nittany Lions
- Michigan State leads the all-time series with Penn State, 46-10.
- The Spartans won the only meeting last year, 90-85, at the Breslin Center.
- The Spartans have won 29 of the last 35 games in the series, including 17 of the last 20.
- Ten of the last 16 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or fewer, with MSU winning seven of those games.
- Tom Izzo is 39-9 in his career against Penn State … Michigan State is 18-5 all-time on the road against Penn State and has won the last two games at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Penn State’s last win was a 62-58 decision at home on Feb 15, 2022.
