The game last year was in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, in which MSU narrowly lost 61-58 and saw Buckeye guard Aaron Craft score 20 points.

To this day, that game has weighed heavy on head coach Tom Izzo’s mind.

“There’s been some close games, and many of them have gone right down to the wire,” Izzo said. “It’s been a good, clean, hard-fought rivalry.”

MSU last came out on top against the Buckeyes early in the Big Ten schedule at home, when they beat them 59-56, led by 15 points from then-junior guard Keith Appling.

The play between Appling and Craft has always been a back-and-forth battle, with Craft winning the last two times.

Izzo said Appling will be key to a win against the Buckeyes, and knows that with the way he’s playing right now, Craft won’t get into his head like in the past.

“He’s got to just play his game,” Izzo said of his senior guard. “They’re two different types of players, but Keith can do some different types of things scoring the ball that Craft can’t do, and Craft can do some things that Keith doesn’t do as well. We’ve just got to make sure that Keith takes care of his business and not worry about anybody else.”

Craft averages just less than 10 points a game for OSU, but has 38 steals and 74 assists on the season, good for first and second in the Big Ten, respectively.

OSU has had the same starting five in each of their 15 games played this season, whereas the Spartans have had nine different players start, and don’t have a player who has started every game.

Three of the top four players in assist/turnover ratio will be in this game, with Craft No. 2, Appling No. 3 and sophomore guard Denzel Valentine No. 4 in the conference.

Izzo said as far as the Buckeyes go, they’re good at becoming athletic during the game and turning the game into a running game.

“They get you in a lot of ball screens and they turn their defense into offense,” he said. “When you’ve got three defenders on the permitter and you go the other way, they become aggressive and turn that into fast break basketball.”

While Izzo is focused on stopping the counter from the Buckeyes, down in Columbus they’re focusing on not getting slashed by one of the best players in the country.

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta has had his eye on the Spartans’ sophomore guard Gary Harris for some time, even trying to convince him to come to Ohio State a few years ago.

Harris scored a career-high 26 points against Indiana on Saturday, and now, Matta is worried about his team stopping the No. 2 scorer in the Big Ten.

“Gary is a complete player — he does everything well,” Matta said. “When he’s making shots like he was Saturday, that changes a lot. He’s really embraced what Michigan State basketball stands for, and those are the guys that tend to have the most success.”

Both Harris and senior forward Adreian Payne are in the top 10 in scoring, and the Buckeye’s leading scorer, LaQuinton Ross sits at No. 15 with 13.6 points per game.

Over the years, the Spartans have had many good games against Illinois, Wisconsin and of course Michigan, but none to the consistency or regularity of their spats with the Buckeyes.

MSU and OSU have had some great game and battles on the court, but these are the games in which Izzo and the Spartans thrive.

“You have to to do what you can do and not get caught up in the circus of rivalry games,” he said. “Rivalries are built on two good teams that are playing for something, and us and Ohio State have been playing for a lot of Big Ten championships in the last few years.”