Written by
The Sports Network
East Lansing, MI (Sports Network) - The 23rd-ranked Michigan Wolverines will
try to be the first team to knock off the ninth-ranked Michigan State Spartans
at the Breslin Center when the two rivals square off in a Big Ten Conference
battle.
This will be the 169th meeting in the all-time series and second encounter
this season. Michigan holds a 94-74 advantage over the Spartans after its
60-59 victory on Jan. 17th last month. The first matchup between these two
provided a thrilling finish, which is highly likely to happen again in this
one.
Michigan head coach John Beilein led his team to a crucial 68-56 home victory
over the Indiana Hoosiers on Wednesday to stay just a game back of first place
in the conference. Despite defeating Purdue recently on the road, Michigan is
still only 2-5 in games away from home this year. The Wolverines still own an
impressive 17-6 overall record which includes a 6-3 mark in league play. The
Wolverines submitted a stellar shooting performance from three-point range
against Indiana, as they made 9-of-22 from long range to power the victory.
The Wolverines provide a challenge for their opponents as they allow a mere
60.9 ppg, which is fourth best in the league.
Michigan has one of the best backcourts in the nation as Tim Hardaway Jr. and
Trey Burke are two of the top guards in the Big Ten. Hardaway is the team's
leading scorer with an average of 15.1 ppg. The sophomore guard has scored in
double-figures in three-straight outings after his 13 point outing in the win
over Indiana. Hardaway Jr., has a big impact every time he steps on the floor
due to his athleticism, which he utilizes at both ends. Despite being a
freshman, Burke is third in the conference in assists (5.0 apg) and second on
the team in scoring (14.3 ppg). Jordan Morgan is leading Michigan on the
boards with 5.6 rpg and Zack Novak is a third scoring option as he is netting
just under 10 ppg.
Tom Izzo's team fell to 17-5 overall and 6-3 in Big Ten action on Tuesday when
it dropped a 42-41 decision to the Illinois Fighting Illini. Michigan State is
1.5 games back of first place and would like nothing more than to move past
Michigan in the standings as it avenges its loss from last month. The Spartans
will be looking to bounce back from their horrendous performance their last
time out, as they shot a season-low 24.1 percent from the floor against
Illinois. Michigan State also dished out a season-low of four assists against
the Fighting Illini. Despite the atrocious showing its last time out, Michigan
State is still ranked third in the league with a scoring average of 74.1 ppg.
Draymond Green is pacing Michigan State with 14.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per
game. The senior forward will try to recover from Tuesday, when he scored only
five points and committed five turnovers his last time out. Keith Appling is
second on the team in scoring with 12 points per game while he leads the
squad with 3.9 assists per game. Brandon Wood and Branden Dawson are solid
contributors with scoring averages above eight points per game.
The Sports Network