The Florida Gators and Michigan State Spartans are playing on the college basketball schedule on ESPN2 on Saturday and the game is live from the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The Spartans come in ranked number one in the top 10 this season and they are 10-0 on the year as they take on UF in a tough nonconference test.
Michigan State has started off the season strong and the team has also won games against Kansas, Louisville and Providence over the first 10 wins. Denzel Valentine is leading the team in scoring this season with 18 points per game and he is looking to bounce back after a couple of tough performances. The team opened the season outside the top 10 and now they are at number one and they will try and stay there with a win against Florida.
This is a past rematch of the 2000 title game between Florida and Michigan State and following this matchup, MSU will play against Northeastern and they open Big Ten play later in the month. MSU won against Maryland-Eastern Shore 78-35 and now they will have a tougher test in Florida. The Gators have lost against Purdue and Miami this season and those are solid defeats as the team tries to keep form after Billy Donovan departed for Oklahoma City before the season.
The team will have their hands full with Valentine, who has been averaging 18.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game this season. Dorian Finney-Smith is a tough matchup for the team and he will be a player to watch in the game as well. Florida comes in after a loss against Miami and now they have Michigan State before playing against Oklahoma State. The team also has games coming up against Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi.
Michigan State comes in after a win against the Shore and Binghamton and before that the team won against Louisville and Providence. Coming up the team has Oakland, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois and after that the team plays against Penn State and then again against Iowa. The team continues the conference play schedule with Wisconsin, Nebraska, Maryland and Northwestern.
Check here for the Florida and Michigan State live coverage.
Check here for the stats, updates, score and play by play for the game.