Following MSU's last victory against Ohio State on March 5, Buckeye freshman guard JaQuan Lyle declared his belief that the Spartans are the best team in the country.

And on Thursday, in looking ahead to his team's third meeting with MSU this season, Lyle, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against the Nittany Lions, once again reaffirmed those beliefs.

"I still believe that," Lyle said. "It's just a great basketball team led by great seniors. ... They get through adversity real quick, get to the next plays quick."

Lyle is not alone in his thoughts toward the Spartans. 

"The way they move the ball and their offensive execution, and I think their leadership is great," Ohio State freshman forward Mickey Mitchell said. "That's a big part of what makes them so good is when they all come together. And you can see that when you're playing against them. It's tough."

Heading into this game against the Spartans, the Buckeyes know they're looked at as underdogs. After all, the Spartans beat them 81-62 on Feb. 24 and then 91-76 on March 5. 

But they're not worried about that. It's a position they've been in all year long, as they're one of the youngest teams in all of college basketball.

"We can't worry about us being the younger team," Mitchell said. "If we're going to sit and do that, we might as well sit and lay down but I think we'll come out here, playing basketball just like everybody else is in this tournament and not worried about what grade we're in."

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta echoed his player's thoughts that MSU is no doubt a talented team. However, he did bring up the fact MSU has shot an unbelievable percentage against them this year. If they can play better on the defensive end, Matta said, they can have a chance.

In addition to this, Matta brought up another reason for why he feels his team has a shot against the Spartans -- it's March.

"Anything can happen now," Matta said.