| Big Ten Men's Basketball No. 15/17 Wisconsin vs. No. 7/8 Michigan State | ||
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| 19-6 (8-4 Big Ten) | 20-5 (9-3 Big Ten) | |
| Feb. 16, 2012 6:00 PM CT Breslin Center (14,759), East Lansing, MI | ||
| TV: ESPN (Dave O'Brien, Stephen Bardo) Radio: 1070 FM / 1310 AM (Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas) | ||
| All-time Series: MSU leads 70-60 Last Meeting: MSU won 63-60 (1/3/12) | ||
Payback and a championship. Wisconsin has a chance to gain one and extend hope for the other in a huge game that kicks off the final third of the Big Ten season.
The Badgers have lost six straight at Michigan State, but have been road warriors (5-1) this season in league play. Wisconsin will be hoping to get more production from the off guard position in this one, if only to avoid the monumental scoring lapses that the Badgers survived against Minnesota. If UW has any hopes of stealing a Big Ten title, their work starts in earnest tonight in East Lansing.
Michigan State's impressive 58-48 win over Ohio State has Tom Izzo's crew back in position for another title themselves. The Spartans are sporting a much improved offense this season and their return to voracious rebounding has fueled the third-best defense in the nation (allowing only 0.839 PPP).