The next obstacle for the Spartans (20-4 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) is a tilt with pesky Northwestern (12-12, 5-6) tonight at 7 p.m.

The Spartans will once again be without junior forward Branden Dawson and senior guard Keith Appling, but senior Adreian Payne is nearing 100 percent after starting and scoring 24 points at Wisconsin.

“You look at Northwestern, a team that a month ago everybody thought was in shambles,” head coach Tom Izzo said. “(Head coach) Chris (Collins) has done a great job rallying them. This is a team that, they lose a heartbreaker to Nebraska or they would have come in here with a (three-game) winning streak.”

The Wildcats are one of the most surprising teams in the conference, winning four of their last six — including three on the road against Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Earlier this season, MSU beat Northwestern in a 54-40 slugfest that saw sophomore guard Gary Harris score 14 points and Dawson grab 11 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Denzel Valentine and freshman forward Gavin Schilling are the only two players to see time in every game this season.

Izzo said players like Valentine have been key to the success of MSU in the wake of all the different lineups.

He said he sees no fatigue in him at all.

“If you really look at it, who has practiced full go?” Izzo asked. “It’s been Valentine and maybe Alvin Ellis, but until we put Alvin Ellis on the scout team a couple weeks ago, he was getting a lot of rest every practice. I mean, the guy that should be deadest is the liveliest, and that’s Valentine.”

Valentine has been a staple in the starting lineup since Dec. 14 against Oakland.

He said Northwestern provides a different challenge with their defensive and shot-making abilities.

This time around, he said MSU needs to come out with a different mindset against Northwestern, and he doesn’t mind going all out in every practice and game.

“I like it,” Valentine said. “A lot of players are like ‘Aww man, we’re practicing.’ No, I like this. This is what I signed up for. I want to be good. I want to be the best I can be. There’s no time for off days. It’s money time right now.”

Northwestern is the only team from a major conference to have never made the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats also have the worst scoring offense in the Big Ten, but the second-best defense, allowing less than 63 points a game.

Izzo said he’s followed the Northwestern coaches through the years, and even recruited Collins back in the day.

He wants the Wildcats to make the tournament eventually, but just not to take a step toward that goal when they take on MSU.

“I can’t pull for them Thursday, but once I’m done with that game, yeah, you’d like somebody to do something that hasn’t been done in the history of their school,” Izzo said. “I think it would be a benefit for Northwestern, of course, but I think it would be good for the whole Big Ten and even for the country.”