GAME NOTES: The Michigan State Spartans go in search of their third straight Big Ten Conference victory when they entertain the Northwestern Wildcats at the Breslin Center on Sunday.

Northwestern won its Big Ten opener at Rutgers on Dec. 30, 51-47, running its winning streak to four in a row, but then fell hard to No. 4 Wisconsin at home last Sunday, 81-58. As a result, the Wildcats come into this fray sporting a 10-5 overall record, and they are seeking their third victory in four true road games this season.

At 11-5, Michigan State has largely disappointed to this point in the campaign, but the Spartans have won their last two games to move to 2-1 in Big Ten play. The most recent encounter took place at Iowa on Thursday and resulted in a 75-61 come-from-behind triumph. MSU is 7-2 in East Lansing this season, splitting its last four in front of the hometown faithful.

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 85-38, and the Spartans have won the last four meetings, and eight of the last nine overall. The Wildcats have won only five times in 56 encounters dating back 30 years.

Poor play at both ends of the court led to Northwestern's shellacking at the hands of the fourth-ranked Badgers last weekend, as the Wildcats shot just 39.3 percent from the field, missing the mark on 10 of their 14 3-point attempts, while the visiting team converted 12-of-25 long-range launches en route to a 52.6 percent overall shooting effort. Both teams took rather good care of the basketball, with UW turning it over only seven times, and NU nine times. Tre Demps led the 'Cats with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Bryant McIntosh tallied 13 points in the losing effort.

Demps (12.1 ppg), McIntosh (11.8 ppg, 4.7 apg) and Alex Olah (10.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg) are all averaging double figures for Northwestern this season, but no other player nets as much as seven points, leaving the team with a scoring average of just 64.3 ppg. The Wildcats have performed well at the defensive end though, limiting the opposition to 60.3 ppg behind a typical shooting output of only 40.6 percent.

Travis Trice drained 7-of-8 3-point tries on his way to 25 points, as Michigan State routed Iowa the last time out. Denzel Valentine lent a hand as he nailed four treys to finish with 18 points, and he added nine rebounds and six assists to his impressive stat line. Braden Dawson logged a double-double consisting of 14 points and 15 boards for the Spartans, who shot 50.9 percent from the floor, while holding the Hawkeyes to 43.1 percent, which included a dismal 2-of-12 showing beyond the arc. MSU trailed at the break, 39-28, but went on a tear over the final 20 minutes, outscoring the home team, 47-22, thank to an 8-of-12 shooting performance from long range.

Trice and Valentine are both netting 14.1 ppg to pace the Spartans, who generate 74.1 ppg in hitting 41.8 percent of their 3-point tries. Dawson is close to averaging a double-double as he turns in 11.2 points and 9.5 caroms per contest, while Bryn Forbes teeters on the brink of double-digit scoring with his 9.9 ppg. Michigan State plays some pretty stingy defense as well, with foes producing just 60.1 ppg behind shooting efforts that see them drop a mere 37.2 percent of their total shots, which includes a 26.9 percent performance out on the perimeter. Add a significant rebounding advantage (+8.2) and it's not difficult to see why MSU wins more games than it loses.

Despite what will likely be a spirited effort from Demps and his teammates, the Wildcats lack the overall talent and depth needed to knocked off the Spartans on their home floor.