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#10 Michigan State Falls 87-75 To #8 Duke Blue Devils Official Game Thread

#10 Michigan State vs #8 Duke Blue Devils Official Game Thread

Breslin Center

East Lansing, MI

The Duke Blue Devils are in East Lansing to take on the Spartans tonight, December 3rd in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. That game can be seen on ESPN and it tips off at 9:30 PM.

Make sure you constantly update this article for the latest updates, and keep commenting with fans from around the nation in the thread.

The Spartans and the Blue Devils have a storied history. Here are five big game notes about the contest courtesy of the Spartans SID Mex Carey:

1. Big Ten/ACC Challenge History Michigan State is 8-11 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and had its 2001 game against Virginia in Richmond cancelled due to unplayable wet floor conditions ... After dropping the first 10 challenges, the Big Ten has captured six of the last 10, with the conferences splitting the 2012 and 2013 Challenges, 6-6 ... The Spartans have split their last four Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, with wins over Notre Dame (2017) and Louisville (2015) ... Last year, MSU lost in overtime at Louisville, 82-78.

2. Series History This is the 16th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Duke ... Duke leads the all-time series, 12-3 ... The Spartans won the last meeting, 68-67, on March 31, 2019 in the NCAA Elite Eight to reach the Final Four ... MSU is 0-1 at home against Duke, the lone game a 72-50 Blue Devils win on Dec. 3, 2003.

3. Michigan State to Retire Draymond Green’s Jersey Tuesday Night The Michigan State men’s basketball program will retire Draymond Green’s No. 23 on Tuesday, Dec. 3 when the Spartans host Duke … Green, who played in two Final Fours and won three Big Ten regular-season championships, earned National Player of the Year honors in 2012 in addition to being a consensus First-Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year … Green is one of just four players in Michigan State history to earn National Player of the Year honors, having been selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2012 … A consensus First-Team All-American, he also collected Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player accolades in 2012 … In addition to First-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2012, he was a second-team honoree in 2011 and 2010, while also being named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year in 2010 ... As a senior in 2012, he also earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

4. Spartans Pull Away from UCLA in Second Half in 75-62 Win at Maui Invitational Senior guard Cassius Winston scored a game-high 20 points, junior forward Xavier Tillman had 14 and seven rebounds and No. 3 Michigan State knocked off UCLA, 75-62, in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational fifth-place game on Nov. 27 inside the Lahaina Civic Center ... After losing the opening game in Maui to Virginia Tech (71-66), the Spartans bounced back with wins over Georgia (93-85) and UCLA ... Winston was sharp in the first half against UCLA, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting to help the Spartans build a 26-23 lead ... Michigan State opened the second half with a quick 10-2 run to go up 36-25 and pushed it to 15 points midway through. UCLA tried to make a run, but the Spartans made 14-of-26 shots in the second half to keep the Bruins at bay.

5. Spartans Through Seven Games Senior guard Cassius Winston leads MSU, and ranks seventh in the Big Ten, in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game … Winston is also fourth in the league in assists, averaging 6.0 per game ... Junior forward Xavier Tillman is second on the team with 12.3 points per game and tops the team, and is third in the Big Ten, with 10.0 rebounds per game, while adding 2.3 assists per game ... Sophomore forward Aaron Henry, who scored a season-high 18 points against Virginia Tech, is third on the team with 12.2 points per game, while adding 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists ... MSU has six other players averaging at least 3.0 points per game, led by sophomore forward Gabe Brown, who is averaging 8.0 points and 3.4 rebounds ... Freshman guard Rocket Watts adds 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists and freshman forward Malik Hall is averaging 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds ... Sophomore forward Thomas Kithier is averaging 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists and sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. is averaging 4.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks ... Redhsirt senior Kyle Ahrens is averaging 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds.

Starters:  Rockets, Winston, Henry, Tillman Bingham & (MBJ)

1st Media Timeout Of the 1st Half:  #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 15-11 11:53  Turnovers 4-1 MSU  Xavier Tillman leads MSU with 4.

2nd Media Timeout Of the 1st Half: #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 11-7 11:33 Turnovers 6-3 MSU Xavier Tillman leads MSU with 4.

3rd Media Timeout Of the 1st Half: #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 25-17 7:53 Turnovers 7-4 MSU Marcus Bingham Jr leads MSU with 5.

FINAL Media Timeout Of the 1st Half: #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 34-20 3:53 Turnovers 8-6 MSU Marcus Bingham Jr & Cassius Winston lead MSU with 6.

Halftime UPDATE:  #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 45-29  Stats below:

MU DUKE Halftime

1st Media Timeout Of the 2nd Half: #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 51-38 15:58 Turnovers 11-9 MSU Marcus Bingham Jr (MBJ) & Cassius Winston lead the Spartans with 10 

2nd Media Timeout Of the 2nd Half: #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 65-51 11:53 Turnovers 11-10 MSU Marcus Bingham Jr (MBJ) leads the Spartans with 12

3rd Media Timeout Of the 2nd Half: #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 79-61 6:14 Turnovers 12-11 MSU Xavier Tillman leads the Spartans with 16

FINAL Media Timeout Of the 2nd Half: #10 Michigan State trails #8 Duke 81-63 4:14 Turnovers 13-13  Xavier Tillman leads the Spartans with 16

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