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The Michigan State Spartans will travel to face their Big 10 rival, the No.13 Ohio State Buckeyes, on Sunday afternoon.
The Buckeyes have won five of their last six games, including an impressive 74-62 victory over the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers last week.
Meanwhile, the Spartans are coming off their worst loss of the season, where they were blown out by the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 67-37.
Match Details
Fixture: Michigan State Spartans vs Ohio State Buckeyes - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date & Time: Sunday, January 31st, 2021, 1 PM ET
Venue: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Ohio State Buckeyes Preview
The Ohio State Buckeyes now sit just two games out of first place in the Big Ten conference after their win against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Buckeyes have been shooting a ball at a remarkably high percentage in their last two games. They have a 51.4% conversion rate from the field and are 89.3% from the free-throw line.
The shooting efficiency has allowed them to execute late in games and close out victories. Here is what Buckeyes' head coach, Chris Holtmann, had to say about his team's ability to close out the game in the latest victory over Penn State:
We executed much better late. I thought we got what we wanted, for the most part. Our guys made plays down the stretch.
If the Ohio State Buckeyes can continue to shoot the ball over 50% from the field, they will defeat the struggling Michigan State Spartans.
Key Player - E.J. Liddell
The best player on the Ohio State Buckeyes this season has been E.J. Liddell. The sophomore center is averaging a team-leading 15 points and 6.8 rebounds on 51.7% shooting.
Liddell will have his hands full battling up against the talented frontcourt of the Michigan State Spartans. Still, if he can maintain his season averages on Sunday afternoon, the Buckeyes will earn their third consecutive win.
Ohio State Buckeyes Predicted Lineup
F Kyle Young, F Justice Sueing, C E.J. Liddell, G Duane Washington Jr., G Justin Ahrens
Michigan State Spartans Preview
The Michigan State Spartans will continue their current road trip on Sunday, after playing in their worst game this season on Thursday night, where they lost by 30-points to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
In the embarrassing defeat, no player for the Spartans scored over seven points, and they shot 29% from the floor. Unfourtanley, their shooting struggles were not an anomaly; earlier this season, they shot 26% in a loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The silver lining for the Michigan State Spartans is that they can blame the loss on being rusty. This was their first game back after a 20-day program pause due to COVID-19 related issues.
The Spartans will need to hope they can find back their shooting touch on Sunday to defeat the talented Ohio State Buckeyes.
Key Player - Aaron Henry
Aaron Henry is the key player for the Michigan State Spartans. The junior forward had his worst game of the season, scoring just 7 points on 30% shooting and gave up a team-high six turnovers.
Henry questioned his team's energy levels and believes they will need to pay closer attention to the details if they are to improve after their humiliating loss, via Kyle Austin,
If Spartans are to bounce back and come away with a win on Sunday afternoon over the Ohio State Buckeyes, Aaron will need to produce more than his normal average of 13.4 points and win his matchup against E.J. Liddell.
Michigan State Spartans Predicted Lineup
F Aaron Henry, F Thomas Kithier, F Joey Hauser, G Rocket Watts, G A.J. Hoggard
Michigan State vs Ohio State Prediction
The Michigan State Spartans control the overall series against the Ohio State Buckeyes with a 75-51 record and have won the last four matchups against their conference rival.
However, the Ohio State Buckeyes are playing much better basketball and will outscore the Spartans, who have been a streaky shooting team all season, to earn their eighth Big Ten win.
Where to watch Michigan State vs Ohio State
The game will be broadcast live on CBS.
