This season, the MSU men's basketball team is in the middle of a personality crisis: Goliath at home and David on the road.
The Spartans (14-9 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) are relatively dominant at Breslin Center, boasting a 10-1 record this season - 5-0 in the Big Ten. And although MSU has a sickly conference road record (1-5), gritty road wins at No. 3 Kentucky last December and Indiana earlier this month show the Spartans can pull off an upset on the road in tonight's matchup in Champaign, Ill.
Those road wins for MSU were the only losses the Wildcats and the Hoosiers have suffered on their home courts this season.
Head coach Tom Izzo said the 7 p.m. tipoff against No. 14 Illinois could trigger MSU's most important stretch of games this season.
"We're looking forward to the challenge," Izzo said. "I think our guys are excited about the chance to play in a game that's so meaningful and play a game that I think will be a tournament atmosphere."
Tournament atmosphere indeed. Illinois' Assembly Hall has the history to be considered among one of the most hostile venues in college basketball. MSU's 67-61 win over the Illini in Champaign last season snapped Illinois' 28-game home-winning streak.
Since then, the Fighting Illini (16-5, 6-4) have remained perfect at home. Izzo and his team said their previous road success against tough opponents in unfriendly territory could give them a lift.
"Thank God we played in some great places this year where it is tough," Izzo said. "Indiana and Kentucky are tough to play.
"I think what Illinois has done is taken a lot of things from us. They have all those students down low. I think Illinois is definitely one of the top-five places in the country to play at. The atmosphere there will be as good as anywhere we've played this year, maybe better."
Senior forward Adam Ballinger echoed Izzo's opinion.
"We compare it to a place like Indiana," Ballinger said. "Fans are on top of you and the students are great down there."
The Spartans could have an opportunity to capitalize on the Illini's recent misfortunes.
Illinois has dropped two of its last three - one loss came to MSU at Breslin Center, 68-65 - and expects to play tonight without starting guard Luther Head.
Head, who has been nagged by a groin injury the entire season, was a key factor in Illinois' 14-point first-half lead when the teams last met. His 11 points included two early 3-pointers, which helped extend the early Illini lead.
"Luther's not going to play," Illinois head coach Bill Self said. "If he plays, he had a miraculous doctors appointment today, and somehow had been treated in a way he hadn't been treated today.
MSU, on the other hand, could get an emotional boost tonight from the return of sophomore forward/guard Alan Anderson. Anderson, sidelined since Feb. 8 with a finger dislocation, is expected to suit up but it remains unlikely he'll see significant game time.
But should the Illini's home-court advantage crush the Spartans hopes of a late-season Big Ten run, or should MSU continue its good road fortune against tough teams in hostile environments, sophomore guard Kelvin Torbert said this is one game that will be fought for tooth and nail.
"Every game here on out is going to be big for us," Torbert said. "You have to go out and do the things you know you can do."
