Wildcats Host No. 10 Michigan State in Marquee Sunday Showdown

NORTHWESTERN MEN'S BASKETBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	Opponent	TIME	LOCATION	Watch	Live Stats
Sunday, Jan. 2	#10 Michigan State	1 pm CT	Welsh-Ryan Arena	Big Ten Network	Live Stats
Radio: WGN RADIO AM-720 Social: Twitter: @NUMensbball \| Instagram: @numensbball

EVANSTON, Ill. – Big Ten basketball returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday afternoon, as Northwestern men's basketball rings in the new year with a Big Ten showdown vs. #10 Michigan State at 1 pm CT.

Sunday marks the 133rd meeting between Michigan State and Northwestern. The Wildcats are looking to earn back-to-back wins over Michigan State for the first time since 1982 and 1983. In their last meeting on Dec. 20, 2020, Northwestern defeated No. 4-Michigan State, 79-65, in its Big Ten Opener, handing the Spartans their first loss of the season and giving NU its first win against an AP Top-5 opponent in 41 years.

Boo Buie led the Wildcats with a career-high 30 points in his last game against the Spartans, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from deep on his way to Big Ten Player of the Week honors. It marked Buie's second 25+ point output when facing MSU at Welsh-Ryan Arena. This season, Buie currently ranks second the Big Ten with 5.7 assists per game. The junior point guard is also averaging 14.9 points per game on the year, joining Pete Nance (16.3 ppg) as one of two Wildcats to rank in the Top-20 in the conference in scoring.

This marks NU's first Big Ten game at home this year and their second conference matchup of the season. A win on Sunday would improve the Wildcats to 2-0 in Big Ten play for the second-straight season. In their Big Ten debut, the 'Cats defeated Maryland, 67-61, in College Park for Northwestern's first win at Maryland in program history. The Wildcats held Maryland to 28.8% shooting (17-of-59) from the field, which marked Maryland's lowest shooting percentage since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten in 2014.

Northwestern is 6-0 when playing at Welsh-Ryan Arena this season, with an average margin of victory of 28.1 points in those home games. It marks the best start to the season at home for NU since their historic 2016-17 campaign, when the 'Cats started 9-0 at Welsh-Ryan.

The Wildcats will be playing just their fourth game over a one-month span due to several cancellations in recent weeks. NU's game against DePaul on Dec. 18 was canceled due to positive COVID-19 results in the DePaul program, while its game vs. Prairie View A&M on Dec. 28 was canceled by mutual agreement between the two programs. Guests that held single-game tickets for the Prairie View A&M game have the opportunity to exchange them for another home game (excluding Illinois). Exchanges will be first-come, first-served and availability for some games is limited. For guests not interested in an exchange, refunds will be issued.

Coverage for Sunday's game can be found on Big Ten Network, as well as WGN 720 AM. Limited lower-bowl seats remain for the game as well; tickets can be purchased via the link below.

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Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

Wildcats Host No. 10 Michigan State in Marquee Sunday Showdown

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Boo Buie

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