For the first time in more than two years, Ohio State will come to Breslin Center when the Buckeyes face the No. 13 MSU men's basketball team at 8 p.m. today.
"Ohio State is a funny team," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "They started out 1-4 and now have won four in a row. They've been playing very good basketball."
Ohio State head coach Thad Matta will meet the Spartans (15-4 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) for the first time in his career.
"There's no question we're going to have to play great basketball in order to have a chance to win," Matta said.
The Buckeyes (16-7, 5-4) are only 1-5 away from Value City Arena this season, with the lone win coming Jan. 29 at Northwestern, but they have momentum after a 72-46 demolition of Michigan on Saturday, extending their winning streak to four games.
"They have four guys who can shoot the ball from the perimeter, and they are shooting the ball very well," Izzo said.
But a big change for Ohio State is that forward Terence Dials is finally healthy and is dominating inside, averaging 15.4 points and is only 77 points away from 1,000 career points.
"One of the biggest differences in this team, other than some improvement by their veterans, is that Dials has been healthy," Izzo said. "Everybody knew for two years that he was a very, very good player, but he's spent most of his time on the injured list, and consequently, that had a big impact."
The Buckeyes' depth rivals the Spartans, as they have nine players who average double-digit minutes in conference play.
"They're pretty good," senior swingman Alan Anderson said. "They've got more depth, they get more out of Dials, they get more out of pretty much everybody."
It still is up in the air who will start at point guard for the Spartans. Either freshman Drew Neitzel, who started Saturday, or senior Chris Hill could go.
"Right now, I think we'll probably still start Drew," Izzo said, but added that the main goal is to get Hill shooting well again.
Game of the week
After playing Michigan Tuesday, No. 1 Illinois will play No. 20 Wisconsin on Saturday in a rematch of the Fighting Illini's 75-65 win at Kohl Center on Jan. 25.
"We'll see at what level we play and if we can rise up as a team," Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said.
