Preview: Top 20 rematch in East Lansing between the Badgers and Spartans

No. 14 Wisconsin (18-4, 9-3) vs. No. 17 Michigan State (17-5, 8-3)

Game: Tuesday, Feb. 8 inside the Breslin Center

Time: 6:00 PM CT

Watch: BTN (Brandon Gaudin and Stephen Bardo)

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

Prediction: Michigan State 73, Wisconsin 68

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Looking to keep pace in the race for a Big Ten title, No. 14 Wisconsin hits the road on Tuesday for a battle against No. 17 Michigan State. The Badgers will once again get a motivated Spartans squad that is coming off a loss to Rutgers.

The matchup will be the second meeting this season after Michigan State handed Wisconsin just its third loss of the year. The contest was a meeting of top-15 teams at the time with UW missing one of its big three in junior Tyler Wahl.

The absence of Wahl was felt on both ends of the floor with Brad Davison and Johnny Davis failing to get significant help on the offensive end and on the defensive glass. Wisconsin would go on to get beat on the boards, 39-20, and Wahl's likely defensive assignment, Malik Hall, led the Spartans with 14 points.

Since the loss just a few weeks ago, Greg Gard's bunch has had to find new ways to win with a different cast of players stepping up. Uncharacteristically, the offensive production from Davis and Davison has dipped significantly with Davison having failed to reach double figures in the past two games. Davis is shooting just 33 percent from the field in the previous four contests, including 1-of-9 from deep.

Over the past four games, the trio of Wahl, Chucky Hepburn and Steven Crowl has stepped up. Wahl has developed into a more reliable scoring threat in the paint. The junior forward has now finished in double figures in seven of the last eight games, with the lone outlier being his return from injury against Nebraska.

Crowl, a sophomore, has progressively become more comfortable on the floor and is coming off a win over Penn State in which he led the Badgers with 13 points. As for Hepburn, he has increased up his aggressiveness and has become a threat to pull up off a screen. The trio of Wahl, Crowl and Hepburn led Wisconsin in scoring against the Nittany Lions and shot a combined 15-24 from the field; the rest of the team shot just 6-32.

In the loss to Michigan State earlier this season, Davison and Davis accounted for 47 of Wisconsin's 74 points. If the pair can return to form, they will likely have some necessary help to ease the scoring load off their shoulders.

As a whole, UW has struggled mightily from 3-point range recently. The Badgers went a combined 9-for-45 (20%) from three over the past two games, and the Spartans are the best in the conference at defending the 3-point shot. They allow opponents to shoot just 29 percent from distance.

Keeping the Spartans out of transition will be the key on the defensive end. MSU loves to get out and run and did so in the first meeting to the tune of 19 points in transition. Especially in a tough venue, Wisconsin can not allow Michigan State to get some easy baskets off of live ball turnovers or long rebounds.

Tuesday evening will be the 151st meeting between the two programs with Michigan State leading the series, 84-66, including a 50-15 edge in East Lansing. The Spartans have won nine of the last 11 meetings in the series.

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