After an impressive 12-2 start that included a blowout win over Purdue, last year’s national runner-ups, and the 8th-ranked team in the country at the time of the game, the Penn State Nittany Lions have gone cold. Coach Rhoades’ squad has dropped three straight games and now finds themselves on the wrong side of the bubble for the NCAA tournament. But tonight, they have a chance to right the ship in a matchup with 12th-ranked Michigan State on the road in East Lansing, MI.
On the flip side, Michigan State enters tonight’s matchup red-hot. Their last loss came back in November when they lost to Memphis in the semi-finals of the Maui Invitational. Since then, they’ve won nine straight games and sit in 1st place in the Big Ten with a 5-0 conference record.
The Nittany Lions were without star point guard Ace Baldwin Jr in their Sunday loss to Oregon, with his status for tonight’s game still unknown due to a back injury. Baldwin ranks 4th in the country in assists per game, with eight. He also averages nearly 13.9 points and two steals per game. Whether he plays tonight or not, Penn State will face an uphill battle playing against a talented team on the road, but the Nittany Lions would strongly benefit if Baldwin winds up being able to give it a go tonight.
How to Watch: Penn State vs Michigan State:
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: Breslin Student Events Center
TV: Big Ten Network
Series History
Michigan State owns the head-to-head matchup with a 45-10 all-time record, including a 26-2 record at home. Last year, the Spartans defeated the Nittany Lions by eight in Happy Valley and 31 in East Lansing. However, six of the previous eight matchups between the two schools have been decided by single digits.
