Senior forward Matt Costello said the opportunity to earn the 2-seed with a win over Ohio State on Saturday, on senior day, has MSU dialed in.

“That’s huge," Costello said. "We’re trying to get a good seed for the Big Ten Tournament, get a good seeding for the NCAA Tournament and we have to win out to do that. We’re focusing on that, and striving for our goal that way because we want to win championships.” 

The game is made even more unique, since MSU beat Ohio State 81-62 less than two weeks ago in Columbus, a game during which senior Bryn Forbes hit 7-of-10 3-pointers as he scored 27 points in MSU's victory.

In that game, senior Matt Costello and freshman Deyonta Davis were both heavily criticized by MSU head coach Tom Izzo for their play, as Davis finished with zero points and five rebounds. Costello finished with 16 points and six rebounds, but his defense did not meet Izzo's expectations.

Costello said playing Ohio State for a second time in less than two weeks allows him to have the game fresh in his mind and a hunger to redeem himself against them on what is sure to be an emotional senior night for him.

"It just gives you an opportunity to see your game film, the more you did wrong, and try to prepare off of that," Costello said. 

While it will be relatively the same team MSU saw just 11 days earlier, Forbes thinks Ohio State has been playing at a higher level since that game, as Ohio State beat Iowa Sunday. However, Forbes said having the games so close together does make it easier to prepare, as teams don't have much time to insert any major changes into a game plan in such a short period of time.

“I mean, they’re playing a little bit better than they were, which also changes things," Forbes said. "But also, we kind of know what they do, you know, who they are, who they do and what their game plan is if they come with the same one, which they probably won’t. I’d say it makes it a little bit easier. 

“They’re shooting the ball pretty well, I think they defended Iowa pretty well — so it’s like they took a big step forward.” 

Senior guard Denzel Valentine said as well as the team has been playing, he knows it needs sophomore guard Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. to continue to work his way back from his injury. Valentine said they don't necessarily need Nairn to play large minutes, but they need his defense and speed while he is on the court.

Valentine said while junior guard Eron Harris has solidified himself as MSU's fifth starter, MSU plays better when Nairn is able to come in and help lead the team.

“I tell (Nairn) all the time we need him,” Valentine said. “He provides a different spark, different energy for our team. When he was out, I could tell the difference. Sometimes, I was on defense or offense and I’m like ‘what is missing?’ then I see (Nairn on the bench) and I said, ‘dang, that’s what we’re missing right there.’ 

"And then when he suited up, it just felt like, we’re back now. I just felt more comfortable when (Nairn) is out there, and he’s playing, he’s happy and he’s leading. So we need (Nairn) to win a championship and to do good this year and I’ve said that a lot to him.” 

Big Ten Tournament seeding scenarios  

MSU gets 2-seed if - Win against Ohio State Saturday

MSU gets 3-seed if - MSU loses to Ohio State + Wisconsin beats Purdue + Iowa loses to U-M + Maryland loses to Indiana

MSU gets 4-seed if : MSU loses to Ohio State + Purdue beats Wisconsin + Iowa loses to U-M + Maryland loses to Indiana

MSU gets 5-seed if: MSU loses to Ohio State + Wisconsin beats Purdue + Iowa beats U-M + Maryland loses to Indiana 

MSU gets 6-seed if: MSU loses to Ohio State + Wisconsin beats Purdue + Iowa beats U-M + Maryland beats Indiana

Or: MSU loses to Ohio State + Purdue beats Wisconsin + Iowa beats U-M + Indiana beats Maryland

MSU gets 7-seed if: MSU loses to Ohio State + Purdue beats Wisconsin + Iowa beats U-M + Maryland beats Indiana