Michigan State Basketball vs. Wichita State: Game Time, TV, Live Stream
The #24 Michigan State Spartans’ Bahamas trip will conclude on Friday when they face the Wichita State Shockers in the Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game.
The #24 Michigan State Spartans (3-3) will look to bounce back from their Thursday semifinal loss at the Battle 4 Atlantis as they take on Wichita State (4-2) on Friday for third place in the Bahamas.
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Wichita State suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday in their semifinal game, losing to #10 Louisville 62-52 in their first matchup with a top-25 team. The Shockers have been impressive so far this season, even against their relatively weak early schedule, and have received votes in the AP Poll. They blew out their first five opponents by an average of over 36 points per game, including hanging 116 points on Maryland-Eastern Shore on Sunday and routing Louisiana State 82-47 in their Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinal on Tuesday. Their matchup with Michigan State is an important one for them, as their schedule currently features no other top-25 programs and the Shockers are not guaranteed an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they fail to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in March.
Wichita State boasts a deep bench and a bevy of scorers, as ten players currently average double-digit minutes and at least six points per game. Even against Louisville the Shockers played ten of their players for at least 12 minutes.
They are not as big as the Baylor team that out-played Michigan State in the paint on Thursday, but they have three forwards (Markis McDuffie, Darral Willis Jr. and Rashard Kelly) who all average at least five rebounds a game. McDuffie, a sophomore forward, is the Shockers’ leading scorer, averaging about 12 points and five rebounds despite playing fewer than 20 minutes per game. As a team, Wichita State shoots pretty well, 51.2% overall and 40.7% on three-pointers, and does a fair job taking care of the basketball, averaging just under 13 turnovers per game.
After beating St. John’s in the first round on Wednesday, the Spartans were soundly defeated on a quick turnaround by #20 Baylor in the semifinal, 73-58, on Thursday. The Spartans have played three games against ranked opponents (#11 Arizona, #2 Kentucky, #20 Baylor) and lost them all.
Miles Bridges continues to lead Michigan State in points and rebounds while Eron Harris has scored in double-digits in four straight games. Freshman Josh Langford jumped into the starting lineup for the first time in Thursday’s loss to Baylor, replacing Matt McQuaid. Lourawls Nairn played well in his first game back home in the Bahamas, but was rather quiet in the second and will be looking for a grand finale to his homecoming tournament on Friday.
Here are all the details for today’s game:
#24 Michigan State Spartans vs. Wichita State Shockers
Imperial Arena – Nassau, Bahamas
Game Time: 1:00 p.m.
TV: The game will be aired live on ESPN2.
Live Stream: The game will available for online streaming on WatchESPN with a subscription.
Radio: Will Tieman will be on the mic for the Spartan Sports Network. A full list of over-the-air radio affiliates is available here, the game can be streamed for free here or through the SSN Mobile App with a subscription.
Series History: Michigan State and Wichita State have played eight times since their first meeting in 1962, the Spartans winning five of those matchups. Michigan State won the last meeting, 65-57 in 2008.
Line: As of Thursday night, there is no line set for this game. It will be available here when it is set.