Michigan State basketball: Series history vs. Wisconsin Badgers

Michigan State basketball already lost against Wisconsin earlier this season, but what does the series history look like?

Michigan State basketball and Tom Izzo have revenge on their minds as they head into their next game. The Spartans travel to Madison to take on the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers. This is the second meeting between these teams this season, with the Badgers winning the first matchup in East Lansing 70-57.

Before the game tips off, let’s take a quick look at the all-time series history between these two programs.

Michigan State controls the history vs. Wisconsin

Friday night marks the 155th meeting between these two programs. The Spartans do have the upper hand in this series, posting an 86-68 edge. Considering how good Wisconsin is most years, a +18 win margin sounds good to me.

The matchups in recent years have been extremely close. As I mentioned, the Badgers have the win in the most recent matchup, but the Spartans won three of the previous four meetings. In the last 10 matchups overall, the Spartans hold a narrow 6-4 edge.

Looking now at the last 10 games in Wisconsin, the Spartans also have a 6-4 record. This includes two straight road wins in Madison in 2021-22 and 2022-23. That certainly is a really good sign as the Spartans head into this extremely critical game.

Wisconsin’s season update

Wisconsin is off to a very hot start this year. It has huge wins against Marquette and Virginia in the non-conference as well as the Spartans in East Lansing. They are No. 13 in the country and the lone Big Ten team with one conference loss.

Wisconsin is also coming off a rivalry win at Minnesota on Tuesday, 61-59. The Gophers, however, had every chance to win this game, and arguably should have, even after shooting 5-for-13 from the free throw line. With the great season the Badgers are having, they do have a brutal loss to Penn State. Even with the game being at in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions aren’t very good, so losing to them anywhere this year isn’t ideal.

Michigan State is going to have its hands full on Friday. However, just imagine what this win would do for the season. Biggest win of the season, four-game winning streak, win No. 700 for Izzo, and getting right back into the Big Ten title hunt. That all sounds pretty good to me.