No. 6 Michigan State Plays at Nebraska on Thursday Night

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team hits the road for the second-straight game, visiting Nebraska on Thursday, Jan. 17. Tipoff at Pinnacle Bank Arena is slated for 8 p.m. (ET).

On the Air
The game will air live on FS1, with Justin Kutcher 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, XM and Internet 84.

Records
Michigan State enters Thursday's game with a 15-2 overall record and a 6-0 mark in the Big Ten. The Spartans, ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, have won 10-straight games. Nebraska enters the game with a 13-4 overall record and a 3-3 mark in league play.

Last Time Out
Junior forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds and led three players in double figures as No. 6 Michigan State beat Penn State, 71-56, on Sunday afternoon. Senior guard Matt McQuaid (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville) added 15 points, including 12 in the second half, while junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) added 11 points and six assists and redshirt senior Kenny Goins (Troy, Mich./Warren Mott) chipped in seven points and 10 rebounds.

About the Spartans

Through 17 games, Winston leads the team with 17.6 points per game and 7.4 assists per game ... Winston is seventh in the Big Ten in scoring and is No. 4 in the country in assists per game.
Ward is second on the team with 16.6 points and third on the team with 6.9 rebounds ... He is 10th in the Big Ten in scoring, tied for 13th in rebounding and ranks fourth in the league, and is No. 14 nationally in field goal percentage, connecting on 65.4 percent of his shots.
Junior guard Joshua Langford (Huntsville, Ala./Madison Academy) is third on the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game, while adding 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) is fifth on the team in scoring with 8.5 points and second with 7.7 rebounds, while Goins is sixth on the team in scoring with 6.6 points and leads the team with 9.4 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 33 nationally.
McQuaid is averaging 8.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, connecting on 47.4 percent of his shots.
MSU ranks No. 12 in the country in scoring offense (85.5 ppg), No. 7 in field goal percentage (50.5%) and No. 3 in field goal percentage defense (36.9%).

The Series

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 15-9, and has won seven of 10 meetings as Big Ten foes, including an 86-57 decision last year at home.
Tom Izzo holds a 7-3 series advantage against the Cornhuskers and a 5-3 record against Tim Miles ...

About Nebraska

After losing conference road games at Maryland (74-72) and Iowa (93-84), the Cornhuskers have bounced back to beat Penn State (70-64) and Indiana ... Nebraska is 9-0 at home at Pinnacle Bank Arena, including a 2-0 mark at home.
Senior guard James Palmer Jr. leads the team in scoring, and ranks third in the Big Ten, with 19.0 points per game ... Palmer has eight games with at least 20 points this year.
Redshirt senior forward Isaac Copeland Jr. is second on the team with 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds, while senior guard Glynn Watson Jr. is third with 13.5 points and leads the team with 3.9 assists and 38 3-pointers.
Junior forward Isaiah Roby is fourth on the team with 11.3 points and leads with 6.4 rebounds per game.
Nebraska ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (78.5 ppg) and second in the league, and No. 13 nationally, in scoring defense, allowing 60.8 points per game.

Players Mentioned

Kenny Goins

Joshua Langford

Matt McQuaid

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Nick Ward

Cassius Winston