Wisconsin has the potential to be the highest projected seed in the Big Ten when they travel to Michigan State for a huge Sunday afternoon clash. Every top conference team suffered a tough loss this week, and the Badgers look to rebound after stumbling at Ohio State last Thursday. The Spartans find themselves on the bubble after winning five of their last seven games, the most recent being a blowout victory over Nebraska. Wisconsin won three straight meetings against Michigan State until the Spartans knocked them off 69-57 last February. This matchup tips off at 4:00 PM Eastern time and can be seen on CBS, CBSSports.com, and the CBS Sports mobile app.
No. 16 Wisconsin (22-6, 11-4 B1G)
With Purdue falling on the road to Michigan and Iowa pouncing all over Maryland, there's a good chance the Big Ten won't have any of the top 4 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Based on the latest projections by ESPN, Wisconsin sits at a 5 seed in the Midwest region. That was before a bad loss at Ohio State, who is just 6-10 in conference play this season. The Badgers have now lost three of their last four games -- all against unranked opponents.
Sophomore forward Ethan Happ leads the team in scoring with 14.4 ppg, but was limited to just four points in the loss to the Buckeyes. He struggled with foul trouble and was limited to 22 minutes of action. Happ was still able to get 20 or more points in the prior two games.
Michigan State (17-11, 9-6 B1G)
Based on the latest projections, the Spartans are slotted as a 10 seed in the West region. While they were upset as a 2 seed in the first round last season, they're usually one of the tougher schools to knock out of the dance. Head coach Tom Izzo admitted to overdoing the nonconference schedule and that may have contributed to their sluggish start.
While they still have setbacks, such as a 17-point loss to Purdue last weekend, they're starting to figure things out.
Freshmen Nick Ward (13.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Miles Bridges (16.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) led the team with 20 points each over Nebraska. Both players made 8-of-13 field goals, and Ward flirted with a double-double by grabbing nine rebounds.
Wisconsin is a 1-point favorite on the road and the total O/U is set at 128.5 points. The Badgers are 14-13 against the spread this season.
