GAME NOTES: The 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans and Minnesota Golden Gophers meet for the second time this month, only today's encounter will take place at Williams Arena. The two teams kicked off their Big Ten schedules on January 5th, with the Spartans capturing a 65-59 victory in East Lansing. MSU followed that win up with a 78-75 triumph over Purdue before falling at Iowa, 43-36, a few days later. On Tuesday, the Spartans got back on track by outlasting Ohio State, 66-60. Now at 15-2 overall, MSU takes to the road, where it has gone an even 1-1 thus far. As for Minnesota, it rebounded from its Big Ten opening loss to MSU by posting back-to-back wins over Northwestern (82-63) and Penn State (76-73). The team unfortunately, wasn't able to keep its momentum going on Thursday, dropping a 65-60 decision to nationally-ranked Indiana. It was the first loss in nine home games this season for the Gophers, who dipped to 12-4 overall. Despite the loss earlier this month, Minnesota still leads the all-time series with MSU, 56-53, although the Spartans have won seven of the last eight meetings.

The Spartans have done a good job slowing down their opponents this season, limiting them to just 62.2 ppg and a sub par 38.7 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, MSU is turning in a solid 74.6 ppg behind the duo of Raymar Morgan and Drew Neitzel. Morgan currently leads the team in scoring at 16.9 ppg and he is also grabbing 6.8 rpg. Neitzel, who is shooting 40.4 percent from long range, chips in with 13.9 ppg and he has been in charge of running the offense, dishing out a team-best 4.9 apg. In the squad's last game, the Spartans dominated the boards, 46-31, and that helped compensate for a poor 37.9 percent shooting effort from the field in a 66-60 win over Ohio State. MSU, which is outrebounding its foes by 10.3 ppg on the season, held a decisive 20-6 advantage on the offensive glass. Neitzel scored 13 points and handed out five assists in the win, but Morgan was limited to just six points due to foul trouble.

Much like the Spartans, the Gophers have fared well on defense, as they are not only holding their foes to just 61.2 ppg, but they are also forcing them into 19.8 turnovers per game. At the other end, Minnesota has four players contributing double figures to its 74.4 ppg average. Dan Coleman leads the way with 14.2 ppg and he is also ripping down a team-high 6.6 rpg. Spencer Tollackson ranks second to him with 11.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg, while Lawrence McKenzie contributes 10.4 ppg and 3.1 apg. Blake Hoffarber rounds out the group with 10.3 ppg coming off the bench. In the team's prior contest, Minnesota shot a lackluster 39.7 percent from the floor, including a poor 11-of-21 effort at the foul line, in a five-point loss to Indiana. The team was also dominated on the boards, 42-26, but kept things close by forcing 26 turnovers. Coleman paced the Gophers in the loss with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Both teams play tough defense and that should make for a low scoring and tightly contested affair. MSU though, is a bit more stingy on defense and is the better rebounding team, and that is why it should prevail in this one.