There’s yet another top-25 battle in the Big Ten on Tuesday night between the no. 14 Wisconsin Badgers and the no. 17 Michigan State Spartans. This is a rematch of a game last month in which Michigan State won 86-74 on the road. At home, the Spartans are favored by four points with an over/under of 139.5 points.
The Spartans are very much in the Big Ten title race, sitting just 1.5 games out of first place. However, Michigan State is coming off a concerning 21-point loss to Rutgers over the weekend. That loss makes the Spartans just 3-3 in their last six games despite being 8-3 in conference play.
As for the Badgers, they were able to sneak past Penn State 51-49 over the weekend, avoiding a second straight loss after losing to Illinois last week. Wisconsin is 3-1 since that earlier loss to Michigan State, bringing the Badgers to 18-4 overall and 9-3 in conference play. That means Wisconsin is just one game behind Illinois at the top of the Big Ten standings.
Dynamic Duo
Much of Wisconsin’s season has come down to the dynamic duo of Johnny Davis and Brad Davison. Davis has had a breakout season, leading the Badgers in most statistical categories with 20.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. Davison has been nearly as important as the team’s best outside shooting threat, making 36.5% of his perimeter shots while averaging 15 points per game.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin frontcourt has gotten a big boost lately from Tyler Wahl, who has scored at least 14 points in seven of his last ten games despite averaging just 11 points on the season. Steven Crowl and Chucky Hepburn are also regular contributors, chipping in 9.1 and 7.4 points per game, respectively. However, nobody else in the rotation averages more than three points per game, as the Badgers don’t have as much depth as they would like.
Up Front
For the Spartans, the strength of the team is in the frontcourt. Swingman Gabe Brown leads the way with 13.1 points per game, while Malik Hall averages 10 points per game while shooting nearly 54% from three-point range. Seven-footer Marcus Bingham is also a force on both ends, averaging 9.7 points and 2.6 blocks per game, while Joey Hauser and Julius Marble add quality depth.
However, Michigan State’s backcourt has been a little erratic this season, especially with freshman Max Christie being held to seven points or less in three of his last four games. The point guard tandem of Tyson Walker and A.J. Hoggard has been solid, combining for nearly ten assists per game. However, neither is a big-time scorer, which puts a lot of the pressure on Brown, Hall, and Christie to do a majority of MSU’s scoring.
Strength in Numbers
The Badgers lost the first meeting between these teams despite getting 47 points from Davis and Davison. Michigan State’s frontcourt dominated on the boards, and the Spartans got balanced scoring, winning despite Brown finishing just three points. It’ll be tough for the Badgers to turn the tables on the road, so the best bet is on Michigan State covering at home.
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