Michigan @ Michigan St. preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 17, 2019 ) Michigan 60, Michigan St 65

No. 16 Michigan State looks to continue its winning ways when it hosts 13th-ranked Michigan in Big Ten play on Sunday. The Spartans have bounced back from a sluggish start to the season with six straight wins, including a 76-56 victory over Illinois on Friday to move to the top of the conference standings, and hope to knock off the Wolverines for the fourth consecutive time after sweeping all three matchups last season.

"We've got a long way to go and a lot of work to do and Michigan is next on the list," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo told reporters. "I think this will be a good test for us and a good chance to see how we react and how we respond." Michigan won its first game without its second-leading scorer Isaiah Livers, who is out with a groin injury, as it cruised past UMass Lowell 86-60 on Dec. 29. The Wolverines have won back-to-back contests since suffering a 71-70 overtime loss to No. 6 Oregon, and they hope to knock off their fourth ranked opponent of the season while avenging a loss to the Spartans in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament Final in the process. "It's a big-time rivalry, but there's a lot of respect from both sides even though neither one might not want to admit it," Michigan coach Juwan Howard told reporters. "As a Michigan man just seeing that where we lost three times was painful to watch."

TIME: 1:30 p.m. ET. TV: CBS

ABOUT MICHIGAN (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten): Jon Teske stepped up in Livers' absence as the senior center scored a career-high 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting to go along with eight rebounds in the win against UMass Lowell. Eli Brooks added 15 points while Zavier Simpson registered nine points, 10 assists and six rebounds to move past Antoine Joubert (539) for third place on the program's all-time assists list with 547. Austin Davis tallied seven points and Brandon Johns finished with six in his first start of the season as the Wolverines shot 54 percent from the field against the River Hawks.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (11-3, 3-0): Cassius Winston poured in 21 points and dished out six assists in the win against Illinois to move within three points of overtaking Denzel Valentine (1,645) for 11th place on the program's all-time scoring list. Xavier Tillman produced 19 points, seven rebounds and a season-high four blocked shots as the Spartans outscored the Fighting Illini 40-26 in the second half to earn their third straight victory by double digits. Gabe Brown tallied 12 points while Aaron Henry matched a season high with 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds to finish in double figures for the eighth time in 2019-20.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Michigan State has won its last three games by an average margin of 35.3 points.

2. Simpson is ranked second nationally in assists per game (8.9).

3. Winston has scored 20 or more points in eight games this season.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 78, Michigan 71