Who’s Playing
Penn State Nittany Lions @ Michigan State Spartans
Current Records: Penn State 7-6, Michigan State 8-5
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Jack Breslin Student Events Center — East Lansing, Michigan
- TV: Peacock
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
Penn State has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan State Spartans will face off in a Big Ten battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Penn State scored the most points they’ve had all season to find success on Friday. They claimed a resounding 90-63 win over the Broncs at home. Penn State might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team’s won four contests by 23 points or more this season.
Penn State can attribute much of their success to Kanye Clary, who scored 29 points. Those 29 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Puff Johnson, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, Michigan State waltzed into their matchup Saturday with three straight wins but they left with four. They came out on top against the Sycamores by a score of 87-75.
Michigan State’s victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Malik Hall, who scored 18 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. Tyson Walker was another key contributor, scoring 22 points along with five assists.
The Nittany Lions’ win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-6. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 81.7 points per game. As for the Spartans, their win bumped their record up to 8-5.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Penn State and Michigan State are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Penn State hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 77.5 points per game. However, it’s not like Michigan State struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 77.2 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Penn State came up short against Michigan State when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 67-58. Can Penn State avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Michigan State has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Penn State.
- Dec 07, 2022 – Michigan State 67 vs. Penn State 58
- Feb 15, 2022 – Penn State 62 vs. Michigan State 58
- Dec 11, 2021 – Michigan State 80 vs. Penn State 64
- Feb 09, 2021 – Michigan State 60 vs. Penn State 58
- Mar 03, 2020 – Michigan State 79 vs. Penn State 71
- Feb 04, 2020 – Penn State 75 vs. Michigan State 70
- Jan 13, 2019 – Michigan State 71 vs. Penn State 56
- Jan 31, 2018 – Michigan State 76 vs. Penn State 68
- Mar 09, 2017 – Michigan State 78 vs. Penn State 51
- Jan 07, 2017 – Penn State 72 vs. Michigan State 63
