EAST LANSING— Michigan State men’s basketball is entering conference play coming off its first-ranked win of the season. 

MSU upset then-No. 12 North Carolina 94-91 in the Maui Invitational to clinch a third-place finish. The Spartans nearly broke into the Associated Press Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll after their Maui Invitational performance earning 108 votes to sit below now No. 25 UConn. 

Out in the Aloha State, MSU put up its best shooting percentage from the field on the season so far against UNC with 54.1%. MSU also put up its best three-point shooting percentage with 35% against No. 16 Memphis.  

To open conference play, MSU (6-2) is traveling to take on Minnesota (6-3).  

B1G play last season 

The Spartans finished 10-10 in their Big Ten matchups last season. MSU started the season 0-2 in conference play after dropping its conference home opener against then-No. 23 Wisconsin 70-57 and falling to Nebraska in Lincoln 77-70.  

This is the first time the Spartans have opened B1G play on the road since 2021 against Minnesota. That was also the last conference opener MSU has won. Under head coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans are 17-12 in Big Ten conference openers.  

Scouting Minnesota 

Minnesota didn’t have as much success at its invitational. The Gophers went 0-2 at the ESPN Event’s Invitational, falling back-to-back to Wichita State (68-66) and then Wake Forest (57-51). 

However, Minnesota was able to pick itself up after the two losses and pick up a win over Bethune-Cookman, 79-62. Senior forward Dawson Garcia led the Gophers with 23 points and remains the only player for Minnesota to average double digits (19.1).  

Minnesota ranks 18th in the Big Ten for scoring offense, averaging 64.4 points per game. However, the Gophers rank third in the conference for scoring defense averaging 58.9 points per game.  

The two teams will go head-to-head tonight at Williams Arena with the tip-off set for 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.