First Scouting Report: Against Michigan State, UK seeks to regain Champions Classic mojo
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Game day: No. 4 Kentucky 77, Duquesne 52
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Friday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Duquesne in Rupp Arena.
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A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:
The opponent
No. 4 Kentucky (2-0) will face Michigan State (1-1) on Tuesday (Nov. 15) in the Champions Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (capacity 17,923) in Indianapolis:
The game will tip off at 7 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by ESPN.
After leading most of the game, Michigan State dropped a 64-63 heartbreaker to No. 2 Gonzaga on Friday in the Armed Forces Classic at San Diego.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Michigan State 14-11.
This will be the fourth meeting between UK and MSU in the Champions Classic with Kentucky holding a 2-1 advantage.
Kentucky’s victory over Michigan State in the 2019-20 event was the Wildcats’ only Champions Classic victory in their past five games in the annual four-team, one day doubleheader.
Entering this season’s Champions Classic, the team records in the event are: Duke 7-4, Kansas 6-5, Kentucky 5-6 and Michigan State 4-7.
As UK head man, John Calipari is 2-1 vs. Michigan State.
MSU Coach Tom Izzo is 5-4 against Kentucky.
Most recent meeting
Kentucky freshman guard Tyrese Maxey rifled in 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting to lead the No. 2 Wildcats to a 69-62 victory over No. 1 Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Nov. 5, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Know your foe
1. With only two returning full-time starters from 2021-22, Michigan State entered the 2022-23 season relatively unheralded for a Tom Izzo-coached team. The Spartans are unranked in the AP Top 25 and stood No. 31 overall in that poll, listed among the “other teams receiving votes.”
2. MSU opened its season with a 73-55 victory over Northern Arizona. The player expected to lead the Spartans this season, 6-foot-9, 230-pound power forward Joey Hauser, had a double-double in the victory, 18 points and 10 rebounds, and made six of 12 shots, four of eight three-pointers.
Michigan State also got a big lift off the bench from 6-6 swingman Pierre Clark. Michigan’s 2021 Mr. Basketball poured in 14 points in only 17 minutes of playing time.
3. Michigan State had a chance to beat Gonzaga just ahead of the buzzer Friday night. The Spartans’ Jaden Akins took a three-pointer with two seconds left that would have potentially won the game, but it missed.
MSU took a 16-15 lead with 9:21 left in the first half and led until a Drew Timme free throw tied the game at 55 with 5:13 left in the second half.
Michigan State led by as many as 12, 45-33, on a pair of Hauser free throws with 17:04 left.
Mady Sissoko, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound wide body, led MSU with 14 points and nine rebounds. Forward Malik Hall added 11 points and seven boards. Guards A.J. Hoggard, with 12 points, four rebounds and six assists, and Tyson Walker, 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, also played well.
The game was a struggle for Hauser. The 6-9, 220-pound Marquette transfer went 0-of-5 from the floor, had only one rebound and finished with two points.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 9:17 PM.
