EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 16/17 Michigan State women’s basketball returns home to end the month of January against Oregon on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Mike Hall and Christy Winters Scott on the call.
• Michigan State has won five-straight games after an 88-58 win against No. 24 Michigan on Jan. 25. The Spartans are 17-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten, which stands fourth in the league standings. UCLA (8-0), USC (8-0) and Ohio State (8-1) are the only teams ahead of MSU in the standings.
• Oregon comes to town having won three-straight games, including a gritty 54-47 win over Indiana on Jan. 24. The Ducks are 15-5 overall and 6-3 in league games.
• The Spartans 17-3 start to the season is the best 20-game effort since the 2010-11 team began the year with an 18-2 record. That team went on to win the Big Ten regular season crown.
• Junior guard Theryn Hallock’s 25 points against Michigan wasn’t only just one shy of her career-best from two games ago, but was her third 20-point outing this season and fifth of her career, with MSU improving to 2-1 this season and 4-1 in her career when she posts 20+ points.
SCOUTING OREGON
Oregon holds a 15-5 overall record coming into the game against Michigan State. The Ducks are 6-3 in Big Ten play. Oregon’s only losses came against Illinois, Ohio State and USC. The Ducks have won three-straight games with wins against Purdue, Iowa and Indiana.
Michigan State will see a familiar face in Deja Kelly. Last season, Kelly played for North Carolina and scored 13 points in the Tar Heels, 59-56, win against MSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kelly leads the Ducks in scoring this season, averaging 10.5 points per game, just ahead of Peyton Scott, who is scoring 10.4 ppg. The Ducks are fourth in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing only 58.8 ppg. They are also strong on the defensive side of the ball, standing fourth in steals with 10.1 spg.
Oregon head coach Kelly Graves is in his 11th season as the helm of the Ducks with a 238-116 record. Overall, he is in his 28th season as a head coach with stops at Gonzaga and Saint Marys. His overall record is 620-278.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE DUCKS
Oregon leads the…
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