Spartans to Play No. 17 Michigan State on B1G NetworkSpartans to Play No. 17 Michigan State on B1G Network

Spartans to Play No. 17 Michigan State on B1G Network

SAN JOSE, Calif.- The San José State men’s basketball team (0-2, 0-0 MW) will face off against No. 17 Michigan State (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. PT. The game can be watched on the B1G Network and can be heard on KTRB 860 AM.

2025-26 Schedule

  • The Spartans are looking to return to postseason play for the third time in four years which would be the best stretch in program history. 
  • Last season, the Spartans competed in the NIT for the first time since 1981.
  • The Spartans are opening the season with three games on the road for the first time since 1994-95, not including neutral site games.
  • The Spartans' 46 wins over their last three seasons is the most wins since the team won 46 games from 1985-88 while in the Big West conference.
  • The Spartans are 0-3 all-time against Michigan State with their last matchup being in 2007. Head Coach Tim Miles is 3-7 all-time against MSU.
  • The last SJSU win over a ranked opponent came on Dec. 27, 1996 in a 60-59 win over #19 Alabama in the Comerica Cable Car Classic.
  • Colby Garland is averaging 25.5 points per game, ranking first in the Mountain West and No. 12 in the country (as of Nov. 10).
  • The last time the Spartans defeated a power conference opponent came on Nov. 27, 2016 in an 88-76 win at Washington State.
  • The last time the Spartans defeated a school in the Big Ten came on Dec. 21, 1974 in a 105-103 overtime victory at Iowa.
  • The Spartans are coming off a 85-74 loss to UC Santa Barbara on the road.
  • Garland opened the season with a 21-point performance against Utah (11/3) and a career-high 30-point performance against UC Santa Barbara (11/8).
  • Against UCSB, Garland shot 11-13 from the field and 8-9 from the foul line.
  • Garland is the first Spartan to score 30 points without attempting a three since Brandon Clarke, who scored 36 against Air Force, on Jan. 14, 2017.
  • Garland is also the first Spartan to score 30 on at least 80% shooting from the field since D.J. Brown, who did it against CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 23, 2012.
  • Yaphet Moundi (12 pts. & 13 rebs vs. Utah) is the first Spartan to record a double-double in a Spartan season opener also since Richard Washington in 2020.
  •  The Spartans will have a completely new starting five for the second consecutive season.
  • The Spartans return just three players who saw minutes last season, equating to 19.4 percent of their scoring (Sadraque NgaNga - 6.8 ppg, Washington - 4.4 ppg & Pasha Goodarzi - 2.3 ppg).
  • SJSU added six new players this offseason from the transfer portal. They include Garland (Longwood), Adrian Myers (Mississippi State), JaVaughn Hannah (Western Michigan), Jaden Goodall (Cal), Moundi (Iona) & Marcus Overstreet (Mercer).
  • The Spartans added five freshmen to the squad, including Melvin Bell Jr., Damase Coly, Eren Karakaya, Japhet Moupadele & Douglas Langford.
  • The Spartans also add redshirt freshman Ben Roseborough, who missed all of last season with an injury. Roseborough was a three star rated recruit and ranked as the 13th best player in California in his recruiting class.
  • Garland averaged 12.1 points and 4.4 assists per game at Longwood last season. Garland, who played his freshman season at Drake, was named to the Missouri Valley All-Bench Team in 2023-24 and played 14 minutes in Drake's NCAA Tournament game vs. Washington State.
  • Coming into this season, Hannah has played in 89 career games with 49 starts, all at Western Michigan. Hannah has 812 career points, 309 career rebounds and was named 2024 MAC sixth man of the year.
  • Moundi averaged 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in just 20.6 minutes per game last season at Iona. According to KenPom, Moundi ranked 15th nationally in offensive rebound percentage and 18th in defensive rebound percentage last season.
  • Bell was rated four stars on ESPN and three stars with a player rating of 88 on 247Sports. Bell was also ranked as the third best player in Illinois in his recruiting class according to ESPN. Bell played at La Lumiere High School which was ranked No. 8 in MaxPreps National Top 10 Basketball Rankings.
  • Washington was the lone Spartan freshman to record minutes last season, playing in 34 out of 35 games and drawing seven starts. Washington earned more and more minutes as the season progressed and scored a career-high 19 in the Spartans' regular season finale against Fresno State.
  • The Spartans were picked to finish 10th in the Mountain West Preseason poll.

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