No. 11 Michigan State Faces No. 17 UCLA in Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday

Michigan State's men's basketball team arrived in Las Vegas on Tuesday evening and went through practice at the Orleans Arena the next day in preparation for a matchup with No. 17 UCLA in one of two semifinal games of the Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday, Nov. 22. Tipoff is slated for 10 p.m. ET.

The game will air live on FS1, with Tim Brando calling the play-by-play, Bill Raftery serving as the color analyst and Andy Katz on sidelines. The Spartan Sports Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at SpartanSportsNetwork.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard on Sirius 105, XM 197 and Internet 957.

The winner of the MSU-UCLA game will play the winner of a matchup between Texas and No. 7 North Carolina on Friday, Nov. 23 at either 4 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. (ET).

The Spartans, ranked No. 11 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches poll, improved to 3-1 this season with a 101-33 win over Tennessee Tech on Sunday at the Breslin Center.

Last Time Out

In the win over Tennessee Tech, junior forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) scored 23 points and had six rebounds to lead three players in double figures.

Junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) added 19 points and six assists and junior guard Joshua Langford (Huntsville, Ala./Madison Academy) added 16 points and five assists.
This marked the second game this season that MSU had eclipsed the 100-point mark.
The 68-point margin of victory for MSU ties the Breslin Center record for widest margin of victory, set on Dec. 21, 1992 against Morehead State (121-53).
MSU held Tennessee Tech to 33 points, the fewest points scored by an opponent since holding Binghamton to 33 points in a 76-33 win on Dec. 5, 2015.

About the Spartans

After Michigan State opened the season with a 92-87 loss to then-No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic, the Spartans have rattled off three-straight wins, beating Florida Gulf Coast (106-82), the University of Louisiana at Monroe (80-59) and Tennessee Tech (101-33).

Through four games, Winston leads the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game and in assists with 7.0 per game.

Langford is second on the team with 17.0 points per game and is adding 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while Ward is third on the team with 15.3 points and third on the team with 6.0 rebounds.

Redshirt senior Kenny Goins is sixth on the team in scoring with 7.3 points and leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward Xavier Tillman is fourth on the team in scoring with 8.0 points and second with 8.0 rebounds and senior guard Matt McQuaid is averaging 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Against UCLA

This will be the ninth all-time meeting between Michigan State and UCLA, but the first since the 2011 NCAA Tournament, a 78-76 Bruins win.

The last two meetings between the teams have been on neutral floors.

The previous meeting was on Nov. 20, 2007, when the teams met in the title game of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, a 68-63 UCLA win.

MSU's last win against UCLA was a 76-64 decision on Dec. 21, 2004 at the Breslin Center.

About UCLA

UCLA, ranked No. 17 in the country in the Associated Press poll, enters Thursday's game with a 4-0 record following an 80-65 win over Presbyterian on Monday night.

The Bruins have posted wins over Purdue/Fort Wayne (96-71, Long Beach State (91-80) and Saint Francis (95-58) to open the season.

Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes is one of four players scoring in double figures for the Bruins, leading the team with 17.5 points per game.

Freshman center Moses Brown is second on the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game and leads the team with 12.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots per game … Brown has connected on 78.9 percent of his field goals this season (30-of-38).

Sophomore guard Jaylen Hands is third on the team in scoring with 13.8 points and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game.

Sophomore guard Chris Smith is averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

The Bruins are averaging 90.5 points per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, 34.1 percent from 3-point land and 60.7 percent from the free throw line.

No. 11 Michigan State Faces No. 17 UCLA in Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kenny Goins

Joshua Langford

Matt McQuaid

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston

No. 11 Michigan State Faces No. 17 UCLA in Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kenny Goins

Joshua Langford

Matt McQuaid

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston

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