East Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan State men’s basketball team plays its final exhibition game before the start of the 2024-25 regular season on Tuesday, October 29, hosting Ferris State at the Breslin Center.

The game begins at 7:00 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+ with Matt Merrifield doing play-by-play, Jack Steger serving as color analyst and Marin Klein on the sideline. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard nationally and online at MSUSpartans.com. Will Tieman handles playback, Matt Steigenga serves as color analyst, and Zach Surdenik serves as studio host.

Northern Michigan Summary

• The Spartans played the first of two exhibition games this year on Sunday, October 13, defeating Northern Michigan 70-53 at the Superior Dome Showdown in Marquette, Michigan.
• Freshman guard Jase Richardson scored 11 points and was a sophomore forward Xavier Booker had 10 points as 11 different players scored for the Spartans.
• MSU shot 43.1 percent from the floor (22 of 51), including 51.9 percent (14 of 27) in the second half, and made 47.1 percent of its 3-point field goals (8 of 17).
• The exhibition game was the Michigan State head coach’s first visit in his 30th year Tom Izzo to his alma mater…Izzo graduated from Northern Michigan in 1977.

About the Spartans

• Michigan State finished the 2023-24 season with an overall record of 20-15, including a 10-10 mark in the Big Ten Conference, tied for sixth place in the league.
• The Spartans were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 26th consecutive season, the longest streak in Big Ten Conference history, the third longest in NCAA history, and officially recognized by the NCAA as the longest active streak.
• MSU defeated Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to North Carolina in the second round.
• The Spartans will replace four starters who accounted for 61.7 percent of the team’s shots, 48.6 percent of the team’s rebounds and 64.2 percent of the team’s assists last year, led by the guard Tyson Walker (All-Big Ten Second Team).
• MSU returns three players who were starters last year, led by senior guard Jaden Akinswho ranked fourth on the team with 10.4 points per game, added 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists, and tied for the team lead in 3-pointers (64)…He was the only player to score in all last year 35 games started.
• Michigan State also returns seven letterwinners and welcomes five newcomers, two transfers and three freshmen.
• Junior guard Tre Holloman Proved to be a key player in the rotation as a sophomore, averaging 19.7 minutes per game and contributing 5.7 ppg, finishing second on the team with 2.4 apg and leading the team in 3-point field goals made percentage rate (42.5%).
• Junior Center Carson Cooper started the final four games of the season and appeared in all 35 games, averaging 3.4 points and 4.4 rebounds overall.

MSU adds two transfers

• MSU welcomes two senior forward transfers Frankie Fidler (Omaha) and senior center Szymon Zapala (Longwood/Utah State).
• Fidler, a 6-7, 217-pound forward, spent three years at Omaha and was named First Team All-Summit League in 2023–24 after averaging 20.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists scored per game.
• Fidler started all 33 games for the Mavericks, making 45.2 percent of his field goals, 35.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and a team-high 85.4 percent of his free throws (216 of 253).
• Zapala comes to Michigan State after a season at Longwood University in Virginia and helped the team post a 21-14 record as the Lancers won the Big South Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• Zapala, a 7-0, 240-pound center from Poland, averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game, hit 62.9 percent of his shots from the floor and started 23 of 35 games.

Three freshmen make up the freshman class

• The Spartans’ recruiting class was nationally recognized as one of the top 20 in the country (No. 16 by 247 Sports and No. 19 by ON3 Sports).
• The class includes guards Jase Richardson (the son of former Michigan State All-American Jason Richardson) and Kur Tengalong with forward Jesse McCulloch.

History of the Michigan State Exhibition

• Michigan State has played state exhibition games against 10 different schools in Michigan.
• Tuesday night’s game against Ferris State will be the schools’ fourth meeting.
• The teams last met on October 27, 2021, a 92-58 Michigan State win at the Breslin Center.
• Gabe Brown led the Spartans with 19 points, while then-freshman guard Max Christie scored 17 points.
• Current senior guard Jaden Akins played 14 minutes without substitution, scored 3 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.
• Previous meetings took place in 2017 (80-72 MSU win), 2015 (94-53 MSU win) and 2011 (85-58 MSU).