It was far from a perfect win from MSU, who struggled to shoot the ball efficiently but showed a level of toughness and tenacity that had been missing in recent weeks. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo described the win as “gritty not pretty” and hopes the team can continue to show that same edge consistently.

“We're looking forward to getting on a plane tonight and going up there and trying to find some consistency which has been hard,” Izzo said.

The game against Penn State is the start of the final seven-game stretch to end the regular season. Michigan State will play three of the top five teams in the conference — Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State — in that stretch. Izzo said the team is still on the hunt and will need to continue to execute to the best of its ability. 

“To be the best you gotta beat the best and we're gonna have a chance to do that,” Izzo said. “And that's kind of where you want to be at this time of year — you want to be in the hunt.”

Scouting The Opponent

Penn State enters the game with a 9-12 overall record and a 4-9 conference record, good for 11th best in the conference. The Nittany Lions have lost three straight games entering Tuesday’s contest and are looking to play spoiler to MSU’s Big Ten title chances.

The first time these two teams met on Dec 11, Michigan State ran away with the game in the Breslin Center, scoring 31 transition points en route to an 80-64 victory. MSU has struggled with its transition game in recent weeks, however, and Penn State, under first-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry, has gotten much better defensively.

“I think they've made some adjustments, that's why teams aren't scoring a lot of points against them either,” Izzo said.

Despite the struggles this season, Penn State has the weapons to pull off an upset at home. The Nittany Lions are led by junior forward Seth Lundy and senior guard Jalen Pickett, who both average over 12 points a game and log over 30 minutes a game. Inside, fifth-year center John Harrar is a vacuum on the boards, averaging 9.4 rebounds and 4.5 offensive rebounds a game.

“Even though they've lost the last three games, six and last seven,” Izzo said. “If you look at the scores, it's a one- or two-point game in Michigan, it's a one- or two-point game to Illinois, Wisconsin. They've had some very tough games that have gone right down to the wire.”

MSU will hope to take another step towards being a consistent team and shut down any opportunities for an upset. The game will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and air on the Big Ten Network.