No. 9 Spartans Travel to Louisville Tuesday

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team hits the road on Monday for a matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Louisville as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Tipoff at the KFC Yum! Center is slated for 7:30 p.m.

The game will air live on ESPN, with Jason Benetti calling the play-by-play, Dan Dakich serving as the color analyst and Molly McGrath 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 134 and XM 196.

The Spartans, winners of five-straight games and 5-1 overall, are ranked No. 9 by the Associated Press and No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches poll. MSU beat then-No. 17 UCLA, 87-67, on Thursday and then posted a 78-68 win over Texas on Friday to capture the team championship at the Las Vegas Invitational last weekend.

MSU was led by junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit), who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament and was also named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday. The junior guard was named the Most Valuable Player of the Las Vegas Invitational after averaging 19.5 points, 8.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds in the two wins. He connected on 50.0 percent of his shots (13-of-26), including 50.0 percent of his 3-point attempts (7-of-14). In the championship game, he scored 20 points and handed out 10 assists, along with four rebounds and two steals.

In earning the MVP at the Las Vegas Invitational, it marked the second-straight year Winston took top honors at a preseason tournament as he was named the MVP of the PK80 Invitational Victory Bracket last year. This is his first career Big Ten Player of the Week nod.

Junior guard Joshua Langford (Huntsville, Ala./Madison Academy) and junior forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) were also selected to the all-tournament team. Langford, who scored a career-high 29 points in the win over Texas, averaged 21.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while connecting on 57.7 percent of his shots (15-of-26), including 61.5 percent of his 3-pointers (8-of-13). Ward averaged 11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots.

Through six games, Langford leads the team in scoring with 18.5 points per game, while adding 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Winston is second on the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game and leads the team in assists with 7.5 per game, which ranks No. 6 nationally.

Ward is third on the team with 13.8 points and third on the team with 6.2 rebounds, while redshirt senior Kenny Goins (Troy, Mich./Warren Mott) is fifth on the team in scoring with 6.8 points and leads the team with 9.0 rebounds per game and sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic) is sixth on the team in scoring with 6.8 points and second with 6.7 rebounds. Senior guard Matt McQuaid (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville) is averaging 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Michigan State is 8-10 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, with wins in two of its last three games, beating Notre Dame in 2017 and Louisville in 2015.

This will be the 11th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Louisville. Each team has won five games in the series. The Spartans are 0-2 in games played at Louisville. MSU has won the last two games, including a 71-67 decision at home on Dec. 2, 2015 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

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Players Mentioned

Kenny Goins

Joshua Langford

Matt McQuaid

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston