Michigan State Closes Out 2022 against Buffalo on Friday Night

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team returns to the court for its final game of the 2022 calendar year and its final non-league contest of the regular season, hosting Buffalo on Friday, Dec. 30 (6 p.m., BTN).

The game will air live on BTN, with Kevin Kugler and Dane Fife calling all of the action. The TCF Bank Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard on channel 372 on SiriusXM and on the SiriusXM app.

About the Spartans

Michigan State enters the game on Friday with an 8-4 overall record following a 67-54 win over Oakland University on Dec. 21.
This will be the second game for the Spartans in the last 20 days after a challenging opening to the 2022-23 season.
Michigan State opened the season with11 games in 33 days and faced one of the nation's toughest schedules … Per KenPom.com, Michigan State has faced the nation's 3rd-toughest slate of opposing offenses in the country, the 22nd-toughest slate of opposing defenses and ranks No. 7 overall in strength of schedule.
Through 12 games, graduate forward Joey Hauser leads the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game and rebounds with 7.1 per game, while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 46.3 percent from 3-point land ... He is one of four players scoring in double figures.
Senior guard Tyson Walker is second on the team in scoring with 13.9 ppg, while adding 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Junior guard A.J. Hoggard is third on the team with 12.7 points, fourth with 4.3 rebounds and leads the team (and is third in the Big Ten) with 5.9 assists per game.
Senior forward Malik Hall, who has missed the last eight games but is expected to play against the Bulls, is fourth on the team with 12.0 ppg and third with 5.3 rpg.
Three other players are averaging at least 6.0 points … Junior forward Mady Sissoko, who scored 9 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds against Oakland, is averaging 6.8 points and is second on the team with 6.3 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jaden Akins, who scored a career-high 15 points against Oakland, is adding 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Sophomore Pierre Brooks, who has started five games, is averaging 6.7 points and 3.0 rebounds.

About Buffalo

Buffalo enters the game on Friday night with a 6-6 overall record.
The Bulls, picked to finish in fifth place in the Mid-American Conference, are coming off a 129-62 win over the SUNY (State University of New York) at Canton on Dec. 21.
After beating Colgate (88-87) to open the 2022-23 season, the Bulls lost four-straight games, to James Madison (97-62), at then-No. 25 UConn (84-64), to Drake (80-72) and Howard (63-59).
The Bulls have bounced back to win five of their last seven games, including an 83-66 win over St. Bonaventure.
Buffalo ranks No. 31 in the country in steals per game (9.3 spg), No. 48 in the country in turnovers forced per game (16.0) and the Bulls are averaging 18.75 points per game on the fast break, which ranks fifth in the country.

Series History

Michigan State and Buffalo meet for the fifth time in program history on Friday and just the first time since 1938.
The Spartans lead the all-time series, 4-0, including a 1-0 mark at home.
The teams first played in 1917 in East Lansing, a 36-17 MSU win.
The teams played three times in Buffalo, with the Spartans posting wins in 1933 (29-18), 1934 (37-30) and 1938 (65-35).

Michigan State Closes Out 2022 against Buffalo on Friday Night

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

A.J. Hoggard

Mady Sissoko

Tyson Walker

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