The currently ranked #16 Michigan State Spartans will head to Northwestern Wednesday night sporting a record of 13-2 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten conference play. Michigan State enters this game with the exact same ranking in the polls that they had when they came to visit in December of 2019.
However, the series has been turned on its head since then.
#16 Michigan State Spartans at Northwestern Wildcats
Sunday, January 12, 11 a.m. CT
TV: FOX Gus Johnson (play-by-play) and Jim Jackson (analyst)
Radio: Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst) on WGN 720.
That’s So Trendy Right Now
MSU entered that epic clash having won the last 10, 14 of the last 15 and 26 of the last 28 in the series, which then stood at an all-time advantage of 91-31 to Michigan State.
More recent history favors Northwestern, who have now won four of its last six against Michigan State, including two of the last three in Evanston.
Meanwhile Northwestern have won 23 of its last 25 home games, and their last five at home against AP ranked teams, a trend that is tied for the fourth-longest streak in the nation.
Numerals Do Not Bear False Witness
According to the matchup predictor at ESPN.com, Michigan State has a 53.7% chance of winning to Northwestern’s 46.3%.
The Cats have already suffered five losses on the season, to Dayton (RPI 62), Iowa (RPI 50), Penn State (RPI 51), Butler (RPI 84- this one really hurts) and Purdue (26).
The Cats are currently 10-5, 1-3 in the Big Ten. Northwestern has a NET of 53, with a really nice win over Illinois (NET 6).
Michigan State has a NET of 18 with signature wins over North Carolina (NET 40), Ohio State (NET 30) and Nebraska (NET 38).
In other words, Sunday provides a special opportunity for NU to get a signature win. From there, perhaps Chris Collins’ crew can start to add on to that signature win over the Illini, improve upon their resume for the post season.
Prediction: Michigan State 79, Northwestern 66
The Spartans, right now, are red hot having won eight in a row. They absolutely obliterated Washington tonight, 88-54. They started out 16-1 and took a 42-13 lead to the half.
Hard to pick against anyone with that kind of strong momentum right now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.