Preview: No. 13 Badgers host revenge-seeking Spartans

No. 13 Wisconsin (15-4, 7-1 Big Ten) vs. Michigan State (12-7, 4-4)

Game: Friday, Jan. 26 in the Kohl Center

Time: 7:00 P.M. CT

Watch: FS1

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Wisconsin 68, Michigan State 66

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -2.5 (according to ESPN BET)

No. 13 Wisconsin will play its first repeat-opponent of the season on Friday in the Michigan State Spartans.

Back in early December, the Badgers traveled to East Lansing for their first Big Ten game, and made their first statement with a 70-57 win.

Wisconsin never trailed against the Spartans and held them to their lowest point total all season.

That loss dropped Michigan State to 4-4. They soon began to improve and have won eight of their 11 games since that loss, but still sit tied at sixth in the Big Ten. Another loss to Wisconsin would give the Spartans a losing conference record. Not ideal heading into February.

The biggest difference between these two matchups, on paper, may be the status of Malik Hall. The fifth-year senior had the flu and was limited to just 23 minutes. He was clearly not himself, finishing with just two points on three field goal attempts.

Hall is now feeling better and playing his best basketball of the season, averaging 14.1 points per game over his last seven. It’s safe to say we’ll see a different Hall on Friday.

Regardless of any player’s hot streak, the offense lives and dies by Tyson Walker. He comfortably leads the team in minutes (31.6 per game), field goal attempts (15.6) and usage rate (30.5%).

Not to mention, the fifth-year senior is still one of the best scorers in the Big Ten — sitting at third in the conference averaging 19.7 points per game.

Aside from the impact of the early win, the dominant storyline from the game itself was the emergence of A.J. Storr.

The transfer scored 22, which tied his season high up until that point, on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3. It was his first great performance as a Badger, and a sign of what was to come.

Storr has mostly continued that trajectory throughout the season, although his efficiency has dipped as of late. He’s shooting just 37.7% over his last four games, yet is still averaging 16.7 points in that time.

Wisconsin’s other star who found success against Michigan State was Steven Crowl, who finished second on the team with 18 points. The Spartans decided not to guard the 7-footer on the perimeter, and he made them pay, going 4-of-4 on 3-point attempts.

Those types of performances became expected from Crowl for much of the season, until recently. He suffered a left leg injury in practice earlier in January and was quite obviously affected by it for a few games. Crowl has shown flashes of his pre-injury self, but not for any sustained periods of time.

Ultimately, this game will mean more for the Spartans than it will for Wisconsin.

They’ve yet to beat a team in the top half of the Big Ten standings. Their four wins came against teams with a combined record of 44-33, while the four opponents they’ve lost to are collectively 58-19.

Friday is an opportunity for this year’s Spartans to prove some legitimacy to the rest of the Big Ten, and show that they’re still respectable despite not meeting pre-season expectations.

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