When junior center Paul Davis looks back on six straight losses to No. 20 Wisconsin, he said he remembers the big plays.

Although nearly all of them have been made by the Badgers, Davis said the Spartans (19-4 overall, 10-2 Big Ten) need to knock off Wisconsin (17-6, 10-2) to give them the lift needed to make a run in March during tournament time.

"They beat us down there with the three," Davis said of MSU's last loss at Madison, Wis. "They're shooting it well right now, and they're winning a lot of games with it."

It's been five weeks since Wisconsin overcame an eight-point deficit with two minutes left to score the last 11 points and beat MSU, 62-59.

The loss was devastating for the Spartans. It caused fans and a Detroit columnist to question the toughness of MSU's seniors. Senior guard Chris Hill went into a long scoring slump after shooting 2-for-9 from the field and missing a last-minute free throw.

After that game, MSU won nine of its 10 games, only losing to No. 1 Illinois, and Wisconsin has won five of its last eight games - losing to Minnesota and twice to Illinois.

The stakes are higher this time when the Badgers visit Breslin Center at 7 p.m. today, as both teams are battling for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

But in that game five weeks ago, what Izzo was most disappointed in was the lack of defense in the final minutes.

"It's going to be another battle, and I'm hoping we play a little better this time, especially down the stretch," Izzo said.

Wisconsin will be the third ranked team MSU plays this season, creating an opportunity to erase a 12-game losing streak to ranked teams. A win also could end Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan's unbeaten streak against Izzo and the Spartans.

But Izzo said he hasn't been playing up the revenge factor, rather he's letting his players tell him the importance of the game.

"You know he wants to win because of the Bo Ryan thing and you know we want to win because we haven't beat Wisconsin - it goes both ways," senior swingman Alan Anderson said.

Izzo said freshman guard Drew Neitzel and Badgers guard Kammron Taylor both have made huge improvements since the two teams last played.

The game also will feature Davis' favorite matchup against Wisconsin forward Mike Wilkinson, who had 12 points and seven rebounds earlier this season against the Spartans. Davis scored a season-high 20 points then.

"He makes the play for his team, he's not out there for himself, he's always making a pass, a shot or takes it to the basket," Davis said of Wilkinson.

Wisconsin has stood in MSU's path to a Big Ten title for the past three seasons and a win would be a big hurdle for the Spartans.

"With a win, we would definitely feel better about ourselves," Hill said.

"We've been playing more confident, we've been playing better, but we know we haven't accomplished anything we want to accomplish yet."