This will be an interesting game for MSU as it faces a hungry Purdue team, who is riding hot off a mild upset at home over Iowa on Wednesday.

MSU (18-4 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) comes into the game on a modest four-game winning streak, since its loss Feb. 1 against No. 1 Illinois.

Purdue (7-15, 3-8), on the other hand, is ahead of only Michigan and lowly Penn State in the Big Ten standings.

Purdue forward Carl Landry went off against Iowa for 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting in 33 minutes. Landry owned the Spartans earlier in the season to the tune of 31 points and nine rebounds, and missed only one field goal. But MSU squeaked by 71-64.

Guards

Senior Brandon McKnight mans the point for the Boilermakers and is third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points per game.

Squaring off against him for MSU will be freshman Drew Neitzel and senior Chris Hill. MSU head coach Tom Izzo has chosen to start Neitzel at the point for the past four games, but has said that move is open for change.

With Hill you get more scoring, while the distribution of the ball remains about the same from either player.

MSU also boasts junior Maurice Ager and sophomore Shannon Brown in the backcourt, and this duo almost single-handedly led the Spartans to victory in the Jan. 18 contest between the two teams. They combined for 42 of MSU's 71 points.

At the two guard, Purdue has been wavering, starting four different players at the position, most recently going with Bryant Dillon against Iowa.

This one is easy.

Advantage: MSU

Forwards

As previously stated, Landry is a beast inside, averaging 19.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

This will be an important game for the MSU defense to prove it can shut down a dominant, big man inside. This is where junior forward Matt Trannon comes into play. Trannon, at 6-foot-6, should be matched up with the 6-foot-7 Landry when he's in the game, and that will make for an interesting matchup.

Also at the forward position for Purdue is junior David Teague, who, with Landry, makes a solid one-two punch in the front court. Teague is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14 points per game.

Senior Alan Anderson should be steady as always for MSU and will probably grab at least one or two important rebounds during the course of the game, something that he always seems to do.

Taking the ball inside and getting Landry in foul trouble could be the key to the game.

Advantage: Purdue

Center

Center will be a battle of big juniors as MSU's Paul Davis goes up against Purdue's Matt Kiefer.

In the previous game, Kiefer played 10 more minutes than Davis (34-24) and they still had the same amount of production with nine points apiece.

But both big men combined for one defensive rebound the entire game, with Kiefer coming down with that one. Hopefully those numbers will improve for both players.

When Davis is on his game he can be dominant, and this should be an interesting matchup. He has been picking up his rebounds as of late and that is a good sign for the Spartans.

Advantage: MSU

Bench

This has to be one of the most lopsided categories ever.

MSU goes 10, sometimes 11 players deep in games and generally no one plays over 28 minutes per game.

Purdue on the other hand, goes nine deep, but those players generally only play less than 15 minutes per game. This leaves a lot of the burden on the shoulders of the starters, something MSU does not have to worry about.

The Spartans bench also provides the balance in scoring, which Purdue does not have.

Advantage: MSU

Intangibles

This probably will not be an MSU blowout.

It is Gene Keady Day in Purdue, and many former players will be present to honor the coach.

Izzo said he wants to avoid being the "sacrificial lamb" for this game, and that will probably end up being the case here.

MSU has a very tough game against Wisconsin coming up Thursday, and with this team I don't think looking ahead will be a problem.

Advantage: MSU

Coaching

This is a battle of two of the Big Ten's premier coaches in Izzo and Keady.

If Keady had the amount of talent Izzo has, we'd be up for one knock-down, drag-out fight. But he doesn't.

This will be one of those games where not even a great coach can overcome a talent gap as big as this.

Advantage: MSU