By: Melo Williams
Wisconsin Badgers (17-7, 9-4) hosts No. 10 Michigan State Spartans (20-4, 10-3) in a pivotal Big Ten matchup Friday night at the Kohl Center.
The Spartans have been off since Saturday after defeating then No. 5 Illinois 85-82 and is also 8-2 in their last 10 games.
The Badgers are fresh off an upset win over No. 8 Illinois 92-90 Tuesday night and 8-2 in the last 10 games.
Last time out, Wisconsin defeated Michigan State at the Big Ten tournament 77-74.
Dating back to February 1, 2020, the Badgers hold a 6-4 record over the Spartans.
KEYS TO THE GAME
●Make Jeremy Fears Jr a jump shooter and minimize his playmaking for teammates
●Rebounding- Keep the trio of Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, and Coen Carr off the glass as much as possible.
●Minimize Michigan State fast break points
●Win the turnover battle and points scored off turnovers
●John Blackwell dominant game
●Nick Boyd 5-7 assists
●Nolan Winter 12+ Pts 10+ Rebs
●Bench Points- Braeden Carrington and Austin Rapp 25+ combined points
●Everyone must commit to rebounding
●Dictate and control the pace of the game
Team Stats Comparisons
Player Stats Leaders
*Team High
Michigan State
Jeremy Fears Jr. *15.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, *9.1 APG
Jaxon Kohler 12.8 PPG, *9.4 RPG, 1.2 APG
Coen Carr 11.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.4 APG
Carson Cooper 10.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.5 APG
Jordan Scott 5.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.9 APG
Wisconsin
Nick Boyd *20.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, *3.7 APG
John Blackwell 18.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.4 APG
Nolan Winter 13.9 PPG, *8.9 RPG, 1.7 APG
Andrew Rohde 6.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.8 APG
Aleksas Bieliauskas 4.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG O.7 APG
Game Notes
📍Kohl Center
⏰ 7 PM CST
📺 Fox
📻 Badger Sports Network
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