The No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers (8-4 Big Ten, 17-6 overall) travel to East Lansing tonight to take on No. 11 Michigan State (10-2, 19-4), a team seeking revenge after a 62-59 loss at the Kohl Center in mid January.
Spartan fans are well aware of the dominance Badger head coach Bo Ryan has over State head coach Tom Izzo during his career, having won all six meetings between the two schools since taking over at UW.
In response to the UW student section sporting the \Bo 6, Izzo 0"" during their game on Jan. 16, Jeff Shelman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that he spotted a number of students in ""the Izzone"" last week wearing the T-shirts that proclaimed: ""We do old-school math. National championships 1 + Final Fours 3 = 4.""
""I'd be completely surprised if there's anything,"" said Izzo. ""They've done a great job of not having any derogatory stuff, I hope they have all the fun stuff.""
T-shirts or not, Wisconsin has struggled on the road, having dropped five of its last nine contests, and are aware the environment at the Breslin Center makes it one of the most difficult places in the country to play.
""Everyone's playing real well right now,"" said senior forward Mike Wilkinson, who was held to 12 points in the teams' first meeting. ""They're doing a great job on both ends of the floor and it's definitely going to be a real tough game in a tough surrounding.""
A key difference the Badgers can expect Thursday night is Spartan senior guard Chris Hill, who is averaging 10 points per game, to come off the bench, a move head coach Tom Izzo has been experimenting with since their Feb. 5 game against Iowa.
""He's a very good player,"" said Ryan on adjusting to Hill. ""He's got the statistics to prove that, so there isn't any change in how we approach him.""
One area the Spartans will look to change in their second meeting with the Badgers is creating a more balanced scoring attack. Junior center Paul Davis poured in 20 points in the first contest, but was the lone Spartan to score in double figures on the night.
The Badgers also attempted a season-high 28 3-pointers in their last meeting, converting on 12 (42.9 percent), including five from senior guard Clayton Hanson. However, the Badgers will be better suited slowing the pace of the game and working the ball into the post, something they have strayed away from in each of their losses this year.
""We're just going to have to go in there and execute our game plan and not worry about the threes,"" sophomore guard Kammron Taylor said, who played 17 minutes off the bench in the first State game. ""I think if we execute our game plan it's going to be a really good game.""
Wisconsin will once again have their inconsistent backcourt tested, as Michigan State prefers to spread the floor and get the ball out in transition.
""You've got to take care of the ball and you've got to get good shots,"" Ryan said. ""If you're doing that, you can cut down on some of it [transition].""
Thursday's game will be the first of three games played in a five-day period for the Badgers, who haven't played since their home victory against Michigan last Wednesday.
""You just play it, and, you know, you have to grin and bear it,"" Ryan said of the team playing at Ohio State on Sunday and home against Indiana on Tuesday. ""I mean, it's all TV and everything else that sets it up, so we don't have any control.\
