EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State men’s basketball team will play East Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 25 in the first round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division (1 p.m., FS2).The Spartans will play North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27 (4:30 p.m., Fox). UNC opens the tournament with a game against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. This is MSU’s first trip to play in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Tuesday afternoon’s game will air live on FS2, with Jeff Levering and LaPhonso Ellis calling all the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard statewide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling play-by-play, Matt Steigenga serving as color analyst and Zach Surdenik serving as studio host. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM or the SiriusXM app on channels 136 or 195.
about spartans
- Michigan State finished the 2024–25 season with a 30–7 overall record, including a 17–3 mark in the Big Ten Conference, winning the league regular season title by three games.
- This was the 11th Big Ten regular season title under head coach tom izzo …The Spartans were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th consecutive season and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time, and were ranked No. 7 in the year-end Associated Press Top 25.
- The Spartans are coming off an 84-56 win over Detroit Mercy at home on Friday, their fifth straight win to start the season… It’s the first time MSU has started the 2020-21 season with five straight wins since winning the first six games.
- The Spartans rank 11th in the nation in assists per game (20.8) Jeremy Fears Jr. Leading the nation with 10.4 dimes per game…MSU ranks 8th in the nation in rebound margin (+15.6) and 9th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.
- In five games, the Spartans have four players scoring in double figures, seven averaging at least 6.0 ppg and eight averaging at least 15.0 minutes.
- Jackson Kohler Leads the team in scoring with 15.2 ppg and tops the team with 9.8 rpg (7th B1G, #39 nationally)… Kohler, who has two 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 has Had 20 points against Kentucky, the first 20-point game of his career.
- Jeremy Fears Jr.Joe leads the team in playing 31.6 minutes, is second on the team with 11.8 PPG and is dishing out 10.4 assists per game, leading the entire Division I.
- koen carrOne of the most athletic players in college basketball, he is third on the team with 10.8 ppg, and second on the team with 5.4 rpg and 2.4 apg in 29.4 mpg.
- carson cooper Playing a career-high 23.8 minutes, ranking fourth on the team with 10.0 ppg and fourth with 5.4 rpg.
- second year guard kur tengScored a career-high 15 points against Kentucky and is averaging 6.6 points and 1.0 assists.
- new people ahead cam ward Is fifth on the team with 8.6 ppg and second with 6.0 rpg and classmate jordan scottJoe is fifth on the team in playing 16.4 minutes per game, averaging 3.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg.
- The Spartans played a few exhibition games before the start of the season, defeating Bowling Green, 75–66, at home on October 23, before losing to preseason No. 4 UConn, 76–69, on October 28 at Connecticut.
MSU in preseason tournament
- Michigan State has had success in preseason tournaments in recent years.
- Last year, the Spartans took fourth place at the Maui Invitational after defeating North Carolina 94–91 in overtime.
- In 2021, the Spartans defeated Loyola–Chicago in the Battle 4 Atlantis and then-No. 25 UConn before losing to No. 5 Baylor in the Battle of Atlantis title game.
- In 2018, the Spartans won the Las Vegas Invitational, defeating then-No. 17 UCLA 87–67 in the opening game, before topping Texas in the title game.
- In 2017, MSU won the Victory Bracket of the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Oregon, defeating North Carolina 81–63 in the title game.
- MSU won the 2013 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn and the 2015 Wooden Legacy in California, while placing second at the 2014 Orlando Classic.
About East Carolina
- East Carolina entered Tuesday night’s game with a 2-3 overall record after a 77-65 home loss to Charleston Southern on Friday night.
- The Pirates have suffered losses at Richmond (87–72) and UNCW (85–60), with wins against Georgia Southern (92–89) and Elizabeth City State (71–70) in the season opener.
- Senior guard Jordan Riley, who previously played at Georgetown and Temple, was the top returning scorer from last year (14.5 ppg, third on the team), and leads the Pirates with 18.5 ppg.
- 6-10, 262-pound center Giovani Emejuru, a transfer from George Mason, is second on the team with 17.0 ppg and leads the team with 9.8 rpg.
- ECU head coach Michael Schwartz, who was an assistant at Tennessee under Rick Barnes before moving to Greenville, added nine freshmen, five transfers and four freshmen to this year’s roster.
Against the ECU, The American
- Michigan State and East Carolina will play for the first time when they meet in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Tuesday, November 25.
- The Spartans currently have an all-time record of 23–17 against teams in the American Conference (formerly the American Athletic Conference).
- The American’s last game against the team was an 86–69 win at home against Florida Atlantic on December 21, 2024… This was The American’s second game against the team, following a 71–63 loss to Memphis in the second round of the 2024 Maui Invitational.
- The most frequently played opponent in the league is Wichita State (6–3), including three wins under current MSU head coach tom izzo and Temple (6-6) … Izzo often credited longtime Hall of Fame coach John Chaney for scheduling the Spartans early in his career and encouraged the MSU coach to continue playing the toughest schedule.
- The Spartans have played all but four teams in the league (Charlotte, East Carolina, North Texas and UTSA). The Spartans won the last game played at the Breslin Center on December 4, 2020, 83–76.
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