#8 Michigan State @ #14 Ohio State

Who will WIN this matchup?

#8 Michigan State Spartans (12-2)

@ #14 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1)

Current odds:

Michigan State Spartans: (-125)

Ohio State Buckeyes: (+105)

• The line for this game is Michigan State by 1.5 points.

• Teams that haven’t lost since November square off when No. 7 Michigan State travels to face No. 12 Ohio State in a key Big Ten matchup Saturday afternoon. The Spartans are coming off an 81-55 rout of Northwestern on Wednesday for their seventh straight victory, while the Buckeyes have won six in a row, the most recent an 82-64 victory over High Point last Saturday.

• Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans were hitting on all cylinders against the Wildcats, shooting 70 percent in the first half and 58.6 percent for the game, and recording 28 assists on their 34 made field goals. Many of those field goals were by junior forward Nick Ward (16.4 points, 6.4 rebounds), who had 21 points in the game, while junior guard Cassius Winston (team-high 17.1 points, 7.8 assists) recorded 13 points and 12 assists.

• Ohio State will be a test for Michigan State, though, as the Buckeyes are holding opponents to 38.2 percent shooting, including 29.3 percent from 3-point range, and 61.9 points per game. Sophomore forward Kaleb Wesson is the leading scorer for coach Chris Holtmann, averaging 16.5 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds, while senior guard C.J. Jackson contributes 13.6 points and a team-best 26 3-pointers.

• It’s still uncertain if guard Jeremy Langford, the Spartans’ third-leading scorer at 15 points a game, will play against the Buckeyes after he sat out the win over Northwestern with an ankle injury. Even without Langford, Michigan State had no trouble with the Wildcats, in part because the team is used to losing a starter after Matt McQuaid missed three games earlier this season, with Kyle Ahrens stepping into the starting role. Ahrens replaced Langford against Northwestern and scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and has experience being a starter on the road, having played at Louisville (career-high 15 points) and Iowa when McQuaid was out.

• Wesson has been developing physically in his second collegiate season, and Holtmann and Wesson are happy with how active he’s been on both ends of the floor. But he’ll have a test in Ward, one of the more stronger players in the Big Ten at 6-9 and 245 pounds who loves to post up and draw fouls on defenders with his physical play. Ward had a difficult game against Ohio State a season ago, scoring three points – all free throws, missing one field goal in 26 minutes, and the Buckeyes and Wesson will certainly look to do the same defensive job on him again this season.

• The Spartans are second in the nation in rebound margin (plus-12.0) and third in rebounds per game (44.3).

• Ohio State freshman G Luther Muhammad scored a career-high 15 points against High Point.

• Michigan State leads the series 68-57, but Ohio State holds a 37-23 advantage in games played in Columbus, including last season’s 80-64 victory over the then-No. 1 Spartans.