College Basketball Game Of The Week: No. 14 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Wisconsin

Story posted January 20, 2022 in

The Big Ten conference schedule has given fans yet another Top-25 matchup this week as No. 14 Michigan State travels to Madison to take on No. 8 Wisconsin.

This will be the first matchup between these two teams this season. Last season, Wisconsin was able to defeat Michigan State by a score of 85-76.

The two teams have both had success thus far this season, but seem to be trending in opposite directions.

The Badgers come into this game leading the Big Ten and riding a six-game winning streak that includes wins over top-ranked Purdue and Ohio State.

On the other hand, the Spartans are looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Northwestern in their last game.

The Spartans sit in third place in the conference standings and remain only a half game behind Wisconsin and Illinois for the top spot.

With their victory over Ohio State, behind 25 points from guard Brad Davison, the Badgers jumped up from No. 13 to No. 8 in the rankings.

The Spartans loss to Northwestern hurts them in the rankings as they dropped from No. 10 to No. 14.

This game is huge for both teams as Wisconsin looks to remain atop the conference and Michigan State looks to get a key win against a top-ranked conference opponent.

With a loss to the Badgers, the Spartans could find themselves spiraling downwards as they face No. 17 in their next game.

A win in this game and against Illinois could put the Spartans at the top of the conference.

The Badgers look to get their seventh win in a row and continue their hot streak led by sophomore Johnny Davis.

Davis is a 6 foot 5 inch guard from La Crosse, Wisconsin who does it all for the Badgers. He leads the team in almost every major statistical category including points, rebounds, assists, and steals.

He averages 22.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game and is making a case for himself to win the Wooden Award for the best player in the country.

Michigan State must shut down Davis and get high scoring from leading scorer Gabe Brown and talented freshman Max Christie if they are going to win this game.

Brown leads the Spartans at 14.2 points per game and must be on if the Spartans want to come out on top.

Christie has been showing big flashes of potential in his freshman year and is second on the team in scoring at 10.4 points per game.

He has been a bit inconsistent this year but has to get going and produce in this game for his team to be victorious.

Senior forward Joey Hauser could be a factor in this game. In their matchup last season, Hauser dropped 27 points, shooting 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 3 from three. Hauser also shot well from the line in the game and went 10 for 11 from the stripe.

The odds seem to be in the favor of the Wisconsin Badgers but do not count out the Michigan State Spartans. This game should be a must-watch for Big Ten fans and will have high implications for the rankings and the Big Ten conference.

Thomas English is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email tfe5082@psu.edu.