Breaking Down the Starting 5 of MSU's Next Opponent, Kentucky
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No. 17 Michigan State (3-0) is headed into its second ranked-versus-ranked matchup in just its fourth game this season. The Spartans are headed for New York to face No. 9 Kentucky (3-1) at Madison Square Garden (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
There will be some movement in the rankings prior to tip-off. Since the last AP Poll, MSU beat San Jose State, while Kentucky lost a road game to rival No. 12 Louisville and beat Eastern Illinois at home.
The Wildcats are currently in the second year with Mark Pope as their head coach, who was previously at BYU. John Calipari was Pope's predecessor, and the Spartans defeated Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks on Nov. 8.
Going off the starting lineup from Kentucky's most recent game, here is a breakdown on each of their five starters:
G Collin Chandler (So.)
Season Stats: 11.3 pts, 3.8 reb, 3.5 ast, 0.8 blocks | Shooting Splits: 56/57/67
Chandler is taking a big step for the Wildcats from his freshman to his sophomore year. He's started all four games so far this year after not starting at all last season, only averaging 2.7 points and 10.4 minutes per game.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, what stands out about Chandler so far this year is how great a three-point shooter he's been. He's 13-for-23 from long range (56.5%); Michigan State has made 13 threes as a team this season in three games.
That's where Chandler is the biggest threat, by far. He's only attempted two field goals inside the arc this year.
G Otega Oweh (Sr.)
Season Stats: 13.0 pts, 3.8 reb, 2.0 ast, 0.8 stl | Shooting Splits: 46/25/87
Oweh is Kentucky's top returning player from last year. After transferring in from Oklahoma for Pope's first year with the program, Oweh started all 36 of the Wildcats' games last year and led the team with 16.2 points per contest.
His average hasn't matched last season's, but Oweh has still been in double figures in all four of UK's games. Oweh's toughest game was at Louisville, where he committed five turnovers and fouled out.
He is another player that MSU has to keep close to on the perimeter. Oweh is 3-for-12 from deep this year, but is a career 35.2% shooter from three.
G Denzel Aberdeen (Sr.)
Season Stats: 15.3 pts, 4.8 reb, 3.0 ast, 1.0 stl | Shooting Splits: 56/37/89
Aberdeen has been Kentucky's leading scorer so far, partially because of a 26-point day against Louisville. His efficiency has been pretty good, as well, with a true shooting percentage of 67.4%.
Last season, Aberdeen was an off-the-bench contributor on the Florida Gators team that ended up winning the national championship.
He had been progressively getting more playing time during his three seasons in Gainesville, but only started five games (all last season) across 83 appearances at Florida.
F Mouhamed Dioubate (Jr.)
Season Stats: 12.0 pts, 6.8 rebs, 1.5 ast, 1.0 blk | Shooting Splits: 68/14/69
Dioubate is another one of Kentucky's transfer portal additions from this past offseason who has gotten a larger role with the Wildcats. Last year, Dioubate was a rotational guy at Alabama, averaging 7.2 points per game off the bench across all 37 of the Crimson Tide's season that ended in the Elite Eight.
Now in Lexington, Dioubate has started all four of the Wildcats' games so far and is the team's third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
Dioubate has made 18 of his 21 field goal attempts from inside the three-point arc. He's just 1-for-7 from deep, but he went 12-for-26 last year, showing that he can make them if he's let open.
F Brandon Garrison (Jr.)
Season Stats: 7.3 pts, 5.0 reb, 1.8 ast | Shooting Splits: 80/0/83
Wrapping things up is Garrison, who is listed as either a forward or a center, depending on where one looks.
Like several others on the current starting lineup, Garrison was a player who was coming off the bench last season. After starting a lot as a freshman at Oklahoma State, Garrison transferred to Kentucky and accepted a lesser role. He's back to being a starter again as a junior.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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