The atmosphere will be outstanding at Breslin Center on Thursday as Michigan State welcomes Wisconsin in a Big Ten battle. It gets started at 7:00 EST and you can catch it on ESPN.
Michigan State is in 2nd place in the Big Ten and needs to hold off Wisconsin who sit just south in 4th place. Plus, Wisconsin is ranked #15 in the AP, giving Michigan State a chance to improve its 6-2 record against nationally-ranked teams. The 7th ranked Spartans check in at a respectable 20-5 overall and are 9-3 in the Big Ten. The Badgers have a record of 19-6 including 8-4 in the conference.
We think Michigan State has the advantage in this game. Michigan State and its 15-0 record at home gives them a home-court advantage versus the Wisconsin 7-2 road record. The Spartans #4 RPI ranking also signifies an advantage over the Badgers at #24. Michigan State has also won three games straight and is playing with purpose.
Michigan State has better stats than Wisconsin in one key area, scoring, where the Spartans outperform the Badgers, 73 pts/game to 64 pts/game.
Michigan State has seen Wisconsin already this season, and beat them 63-60 on January 3rd. The Spartans went 1-1 against the Badgers last year. In four seasons, Michigan State has a record of 4-4 against Wisconsin, including 3-0 at home.
StatSmack! Michigan State is better than Wisconsin
- We're a talent magnet. Since 1998 Michigan State has recruited more Top 10 high school players than Wisconsin (6 vs 1).
- Even computers respect Michigan State more. We have a better RPI this season than Wisconsin (RPI: #4 vs #25).
- Michigan State has a better overall winning percentage over the last 30 years (0.673 to 0.591).
- How does our back look? Michigan State is ranked higher than Wisconsin in the Big Ten (#2 vs #4).
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