The Michigan State Spartans are undefeated and sit atop the Associated PRess top 25 rankings in first place and after a strong performance against Oklahoma, the team is ready to play a post Thanksgiving game agame Mount St. Mary's at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center and the game will be airing on the Big Ten Network and will be streaming online from the Big Network 2 Go BTN2Go website.
The Spartans have been very impressive this season and are coming into the game ranked first in the nation in assists per game and they have one very impressive win already over Kentucky and the team was also impressive against Oklahoma in their last game. The Spartans are national title contenders and they shouldn't have any problem on Friday, but Tom Izzo knows better than to overlook any team, even with a matchup against number 16 North Carolina looming soon as well after this game. The team has a tough schedule in the Big Ten this season with ranked teams in Ohio State, Iowa, as well as Michigan and the Spartans likely will end as the highest ranked in the conference with the talent they have.
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Keith Appling has been great for the Spartans this season and he had 27 points against the Sooners and he is tops on the team in assists this year as well. Wisconsin is 8-0 on the season already and ahead of MSU, but the conference schedule hasn't started yet so that doesn't mean much and now Michigan State gets the chance to extend their undefeated record to 7-0 on Friday with the game against Mount St. Mary's.
Michigan State played very well on their way to winning the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic after games over Portland and Virginia Tech and Appling was named MVP of the tournament and Gary Harris comes in leading the team in scoring and Appling is just behind him with 16.8 points on the year and he has been one of the biggest reasons why the team remains undefeated.
This is the second time the schools will meet and the Spartans are heading into a nice part of the schedule with the Tar Heels coming next and the team also has tough road games coming up against the Texas Longhorns and the school will also take the road for the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Indiana Hoosiers before hosting the Ohio State Buckeyes. The OSU squad is experienced and talented and is likely the top challenger for the Spartans in the conference and the battle between those two teams should be very good this season and Michigan State will end the regular season schedule on the road against the Buckeyes in early March. Michigan State also has tough road games against Northwestern and Illinois as well as Purdue and Wisconsin, which is another top ranked team in the conference.
The Spartans know that Mount St. Mary's plays solid defense and they will come in playing aggressive and they are averaging nearly 90 points per game over the past three games and According to the AP, MSU hasn't lost a home game in November since the 1980's so it's unlikely that today will be the day. Tom Izzo has his team prepared for the long run and Appling has been the most impressive player for the team overall and he is shooting over 50 percent from the field this season and he will be relied upon on Friday.