Their record of 9-6 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten aside, that 1-3-1 zone defense and precision Princeton offense can cause struggles for even the best of teams.

“We can’t underestimate them, they’re obviously a good team,” senior center Goran Suton said. “They’ve improved in every category and we’re going to have to stay focused on defense and patient on offense.”

At the forefront of Northwestern’s improvement has been guard Jeremy Nash, who had three steals against both Purdue and Minnesota while working at the top of the Wildcats’ 1-3-1 defense. With that defense, which focuses on pressuring ball handlers and trapping on the perimeter, Northwestern caused 22 turnovers from Purdue and forced Minnesota to cough the ball up 19 times.

Considering the Spartans (15-2, 5-0) had 14 first half turnovers on Saturday against Illinois, it’s easy to see why MSU head coach Tom Izzo is concerned.

“Nash has been moved to the point of their zone and has created all sorts of problems against Minnesota and Purdue,” Izzo said. “I mean, let’s face it, there’s some scary stats there. One is Minnesota shot 62 percent the first half and Northwestern shot 37 percent and they were down three. They’re turning people over a lot; they’re a lot different team than they were before.”

While Izzo, Suton and senior guard Travis Walton all said Northwestern is better now than they were 18 days ago, Izzo also said the Spartans have improved, too. After gut-checking victories against Penn State (78-73) and the Fighting Illini (63-57), the Spartans have proven they can stay ?calm under pressure.

Sophomore guard Kalin Lucas carried the Spartans at the end of both games, going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes against Penn State and scoring all 10 of his points in the second half against Illinois.

Suton has been Mr. Steady, with a double-double against the Nittany Lions and a team-high 12 points against the Illini, and senior forward Marquise Gray’s big game against the Illini (11 points, six rebounds) have many hoping he’s finally living up the five-star potential he came to East Lansing with in 2004.

For the Wildcats, forward Kevin Coble (14.6 points per game) and guard Craig Moore (14.1) have been Northwestern’s top two scorers in the past two games in the patient, slow-it-down offense that focuses on breaking down opponents’ defenses with precision passing and movement.

“Offensively, we have to watch for their back cuts,” Walton said of the keys to the game. “They have some kinks in their offense they’ve worked out.

“It’s going to be tough to attack it right and not turn the ball over as much as we have in the past two games.”