Beyond the similar stats, though, the Green and White and the Scarlet and Gray have a much more important common denominator. As the Spartans and Buckeyes each pursue a Big Ten championship, they are the only two teams in the conference currently in control of their own destinies, making Saturday’s showdown in Columbus, Ohio about as important as it gets.

“You can’t really focus on the records,” senior forward Draymond Green said. “But you definitely have to have that mindset. You have to go out and give a championship effort because this is for first place in the Big Ten.”

Opening tip is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, but the anticipation for Saturday’s game began immediately after MSU handled Penn State 77-57 Wednesday in East Lansing. After building a 22-point lead, the Spartans allowed the Nittany Lions to cut the lead to five near the midway point of the second half. However, MSU turned on the gas and ran away with the 20-point win.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are winners of six straight, most recently escaping a hot-shooting Purdue team Tuesday in Columbus. Ohio State is led by sophomore big man Jared Sullinger, who averages 17.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. But as the Boilermakers found Tuesday, Sullinger is far from being the Buckeyes’ only weapon.

“They’re a solid team in every aspect,” head coach Tom Izzo said. “They’ve got a shooter, they’ve got a point guard that can defend, they’ve got a wing guy that’s an offensive rebounder, they’ve got a hell of a post man, and (forward Deshaun Thomas) goes inside and outside. So they got a little bit of everything.”

Senior guard William Buford — the wing who crashes the boards — scored 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds to go with Sullinger’s 18 and six in Ohio state’s 87-84 win over Purdue. Izzo said freshman guard Branden Dawson likely will be assigned to Buford for much of Saturday’s game.

Dawson has improved on defense throughout the season, Izzo said, and might be playing the best he’s played on that end of the floor all season.

“But it will be a heck of a challenge for him because Buford’s playing about as good as anybody in the league the last couple games,” Izzo said. “We’re going to see what (Dawson) is made of, so it’s going to be fun to watch.”

Also in Ohio State’s backcourt is Aaron Craft, who is regarded as one of the premier defenders in the Big Ten. However, freshman guard Travis Trice — who grew up about 45 minutes away from Columbus — said Craft has improved on the offensive end since last season.

When sophomore guard Keith Appling isn’t defending Craft, the responsibility will fall on Trice. And after playing against Michigan’s Trey Burke and Penn State’s Tim Frazier, Trice said he’s ready for another matchup with a top-tier point guard.
“You’re in the heat of it,” Trice said smiling. “This is what you want, though, a great player on the other side of the floor every time.”

Izzo said he’s looking forward to learning more about his team Saturday, especially the young players, against what he believes to be the best team in the conference. And as long MSU can keep the turnovers down, Izzo said his Spartans have a shot to prove they belong with the Buckeyes right there at the top.

“Everybody’s got a little chink in the armor,” Izzo said. “We’re going to try and find it and expose it.”