Jan 15, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) drives past Penn State Nittany Lions guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images Dale Young-Imagn Images

Preview: Michigan State's Road Test at Penn State

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Dec 13, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Michigan State is now set to play its first true road game of the year.

The ninth-ranked Spartans (8-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) are taking on Penn State (8-2, 0-1) and are looking to bounce back from last Saturday's loss against Duke. PSU lost its most recent game at Indiana by 41 points this past Tuesday.

Here are all the details on how to watch each teams' second conference game of the still-young season.

TV Details

Tip-Off: Noon ET

Channel: Big Ten Network

Announcers: Chris Vosters (play-by-play); Steve Smith (analyst)

Radio Info - Spartan Media Network

Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM), WJIM (1240 AM)

Detroit: WJR (760 AM)

Grand Rapids: WBFX (101.3 FM)

Other radio stations from around the state of Michigan can be found RIGHT HERE.

SiriusXM: Channel 117 or 195, or on the SiriusXM app.

Announcers: Will Tieman (play-by-play); Matt Steigenga (color analyst); Zach Surdenik (host)

More on Penn State

Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The Nittany Lions enter with an 8-2 mark, but their schedule has been very weak to this point. All eight of their wins have come against low- or mid-majors. Those two losses were against the only two power conference teams they have faced to this point: Indiana and a 12-point loss to Providence on Nov. 22.

That schedule puts Penn State outside the top 100 of the NCAA's NET rankings, with all eight wins being classified as "Quad 4" victories, which is the least impressive mark. Michigan State, on the other hand, is 4-1 in "Quad 1" games, which are games usually considered to be difficult and are the types of wins that make its resume look better in March.

Penn State's best player to this point has been freshman guard Kayden Mingo. He's averaging 15.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.1 steals per game so far. Mingo's strength as a scorer is his ability to drive to the hoop --- he's making about 60% of his two-point shots, but is only at about 20% from three. He's been an average free-throw shooter so far, sitting at 73%.

The Nittany Lions have another guard who can step up off the bench as well, with redshirt junior Freddie Dilione V. He has not started a game this year, but is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game while shooting 38.7% from three. He began his career at Tennessee before transferring to Penn State prior to last season.