EAST LANSING, Michigan – The Michigan State men’s basketball team returns home to open Big Ten Conference play hosting Iowa on Tuesday, December 2 (7 p.m., Peacock).The Spartans are coming off a win over East Carolina 89–56 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division on November 25 and a 74–58 win over then-No. 18 North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day. It was MSU’s third ranked win this year (No. 14 Arkansas, No. 12 Kentucky) and the Spartans are 1 of 2 teams nationally (Arizona) with three ranked wins. This marked the first time MSU went undefeated in November since 2015–16.
Tuesday night’s game will air live on Peacock, with Paul Burmeister and Nick Bahe 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 channel 85 or on the SiriusXM app.
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’s regular season title by three games…It was the 11th Big Ten regular season title under head coach John F. Kennedy. 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.
- In seven games, the Spartans have four players scoring in double figures, seven averaging at least 6.0 ppg and nine averaging at least 11.0 minutes.
- senior forward Jackson Kohler Leads the team in scoring with 14.6 ppg and tops the team with 9.7 rpg (4th nationally in B1G, #36)… Kohler, who has three double-doubles, grabbed 18 rebounds against San Jose State, the most by an MSU player since Miles Bridges grabbed 21 rebounds against Savannah State in 2018… He has Had 20 points against Kentucky in the Champions Classic, his first career high. 20-point game.
- redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr.Joe leads the team in playing 31.3 minutes, is second on the team with 12.0 PPG and is dishing out 9.9 assists per game, leading the entire Division I.
- junior forward koen carrOne of the most athletic players in college basketball, ranking third on the team with 10.7 ppg, third on the team with 5.1 rpg and second on the team with 2.1 apg in 29.6 mpg.
- senior center carson cooper Playing a career-high 24.1 minutes, ranking fourth on the team with 10.6 ppg and second with 6.0 rpg.
- new people ahead cam ward Is fifth on the team with 9.0 ppg and third with 5.1 rpg and classmate jordan scott Averaged 2.6 ppg and 2.7 rpg in 13.9 minutes.
- second year guard kur tengThe senior guard is averaging 6.0 points and 1.1 assists, scoring a career-high 15 points against Kentucky. tray fort Ranked sixth on the team in scoring with 6.6 points and added 1.9 rebounds as a sophomore guard. divine ugochuku Adds 4.3 points and redshirt freshman jesse mcculloch Averaged 2.7 ppg and 1.6 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.
Fiers scores career-high 19 points in Fort Myers tip-off, leads No. 11 MSU past No. 18 North Carolina, 89-56
- redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. He scored 19 points and dished out seven assists as four players reached double figures as No. 11 Michigan State defeated No. 18 North Carolina 74-58 in the second round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on Thanksgiving Day.
- Fears scored 15 of his career-high 19 points in the second half as MSU outscored the Tar Heels 41–30 in the second half and held them to a season-low 58 points.
- senior forward Jackson Kohler The senior center had his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. carson cooper Scored 14 points and six rebounds and were freshman forward cam ward 11 points were added off the bench.
in big ten openers
- Michigan State is 18-12 in Big Ten Conference openers under head coach tom izzo,
- MSU won last year’s opener 90-72 at Minnesota and followed up with an 89-52 win over Nebraska at the Breslin Center.
- The Spartans have lost their last two Big Ten Conference openers played at home, losing 70–57 to Wisconsin in 2023 and losing 70–63 to Northwestern in 2022.
about iowa
- Iowa enters Tuesday night’s game in its Big Ten Conference opener with a 7-0 overall record.
- The Hawkeyes are coming off wins over Ole Miss (74-69) and Grand Canyon (59-46) at the Accra Classic in California last week.
- The Hawkeyes also have wins at home against Robert Morris, Western Illinois, Xavier, Southeast Missouri State and Chicago State.
- First-year head coach Ben McCallum, who won 31 games and Missouri Valley regular season and tournament titles in his first season at Drake, brought six players with him from Drake, while only one scholarship player, redshirt freshman guard Cooper Koch, remained from last year’s Iowa team.
- Junior guard Bennett Sturtz, the Missouri Valley Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, leads the team in scoring (18.6 ppg) and assists (5.4 apg).
against the hawkeyes
- Michigan State and Iowa meet for the only time this season and the 139th time in program history in Tuesday night’s matchup.
- MSU leads the all-time series with Iowa 78–60.
- The Spartans won the Big Ten title in 2025 by winning last year’s game 91–84 in Iowa City.
- The Spartans are 47–20 all-time against the Hawkeyes at home, including a 22–5 record at the Breslin Center.
- The teams have split the last four matches of the series.
- Iowa has won two of its last three games at the Breslin Center.
- tom izzo His career mark against Iowa is 36–16.
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