Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska

TV/Radio: FS1, 94.9 WMMQ-FM (Lansing)

Line: MSU -1

Key players: G James Palmer Jr. (6 feet, 6 inches, 207 pounds, Upper Marlboro, Maryland), G Glynn Watson Jr. (6 feet, 180 pounds, Bellwood, Illinois)

No. 6 Michigan State (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) heads to take on Nebraska (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten), winners of their last 20 home games, dating back to last season. The Cornhuskers are averaging 78.5 points per game in league play this season, and most of it is thanks to their senior guard tandem of James Palmer Jr. and Glynn Watson Jr.

Those two form one of the more dynamic backcourts in the Big Ten, and with MSU missing both Joshua Langford and Kyle Ahrens, they will face a disadvantage at the guard position for perhaps the first time all season. Palmer is a big guard who can score at all three levels, averaging 19.0 points per game. Watson is a distributor who can get to the basket in the mold of Spartan point guard Cassius Winston, averaging nearly 14 points and four assists per game. 

This Cornhusker team started the Big Ten season 0-3 on the road, but has rebounded with two wins in a row, including one Monday at No. 25 Indiana. While MSU has won its last 10 games overall, they are right in the middle of a stretch of seven out of 11 road games. With Langford and Ahrens out, freshman Aaron Henry will likely start, with fellow freshman Gabe Brown also getting a majority of the backup wing minutes. 

The Nebraska team that shuffled their feet in a road loss to Minnesota on Dec. 5 probably wouldn’t stand much chance against MSU, but that same Cornhusker team defended and got out in transition to sail past Indiana on Monday.

MSU leads the all-time series 15-9, but Nebraska has been a bit of a thorn in the Spartans’ side since entering the Big Ten in 2011. They won three straight against MSU from 2014-16.