Nebraska @ Michigan St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 17, 2019 ) Michigan St 70, Nebraska 64

No. 11 Michigan State tries to stay in the race for the Big Ten regular-season title when it hosts Nebraska in its penultimate conference contest on Tuesday. The Spartans are coming off a disappointing 63-62 loss to Indiana on Saturday that dropped them one game behind ninth-ranked Purdue for first place with two contests to play, while the Cornhuskers were embarrassed by No. 7 Michigan 82-53 on Thursday.

Nebraska's leading scorer, James Palmer Jr. (18.5 points) is looking to rebound from his lowest-scoring performance of the season after he recorded only seven points in the loss to the Wolverines. The forward duo of Isaac Copeland Jr. (14 points, 5.4 rebounds) and Isaiah Roby (11.1, seven) will look to take it to a Michigan State front line that has been hit by injuries - including one to Nick Ward, who registered 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Spartans won the first meeting of the season. Ward (15.1 points, 6.7 rebounds) and Joshua Langford (15 points) both are missing from Michigan State's lineup, putting pressure on junior guard Cassius Winston (19.2 points, 7.6 assists) to carry the load for coach Tom Izzo's squad. A pair of seniors - guard Matt McQuaid (8.8 points) and forward Kenny Goins (7.8, 8.9 rebounds) - provide the Spartans with solid defense and 3-point shooting, with both increasing their offensive output since Ward has been sidelined.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT NEBRASKA (15-14, 5-13 Big Ten): Coach Tim Miles may be fighting for his job over the next couple weeks, although his team seems to have lost its fight based on the loss at Michigan last week. Miles was very unhappy with his team's effort, benching starters Palmer, Roby and Thomas Allen at the start of the second half after the Cornhuskers fell behind by 22 points in the first 20 minutes. The loss was Nebraska's 10th in 12 games, dropping it to 13th in the Big Ten standings and all but ending its chances at an NCAA Tournament berth without a late-season run.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (23-6, 14-4): Injuries have robbed the Spartans of some of their depth in recent weeks, with forward Kyle Ahrens (5.2 points) continuing to struggle with back issues that have plagued him throughout the season. Ahrens played 10 minutes in the first half against Indiana but physically was unable to get off the bench after halftime, leading Izzo to speculate that the junior might be done for the season in the postgame press conference. Ahrens likely won't play in this one as he attempts to get himself healthy enough for the postseason, so freshman Gabe Brown should get some playing time after riding the bench against the Hoosiers.

TIP-INS

1. Nebraska has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.33, which ranked 36th in the nation through Sunday.

2. Goins hit a career-high four 3-pointers in the loss to Indiana, matching his career total entering this season.

3. The Spartans lead the Big Ten in both field-goal percentage (48.8 percent) and field-goal percentage defense (37.3).

PREDICTION: Michigan State 82, Nebraska 68