Sunday afternoon pits two teams from the Big Ten who haven’t lived up to the expectations surrounding each of them so far this season.

The Northwestern Wildcats have appeared to be on the cusp of an NCAA Tournament berth over the past couple of seasons, but haven’t quite been able to get over the hump and give the school its first ever trip to the big dance.

This season, the Wildcats opened with five straight wins, but had to fight for four of them. Outside of their win over Brown on November 17th, the other four wins in their five-game winning streak were won by 9 points or less. Northwestern struggled to get those wins over mid-major competition, and it’s only a matter of time before we see how they will fare against top level competition in the Big Ten.

Three of their five losses this season have come by double digits, with their most recent game being a blowout loss at home against Wisconsin, 81 – 58.

Many people thought that this year may finally be the year that the Wildcats make it to the big dance, but they have yet to live up to the expectations around the program.

 Northwestern’s inability to knock off a big-time opponent in non-conference play may hurt themselves down the stretch if they can play their way through the tough Big Ten conference and get into the discussion for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The Big Ten is one of the toughest conferences in the country, and Northwestern will have a tough road ahead of them if they want to make some noise in 2014-15. Before they move ahead any further, they first need to take down the Michigan State Spartans, which is no easy task, especially inside the Breslin Center.

Like Northwestern, Michigan State had failed to live up to expectations through the early parts of the 2014-15 season. However, it appears that the Spartans may have turned a new leaf and are on the right track to turning their season around.

The Spartans went through non-conference play without a signature win on their resume. In their last two games, they have knocked off the Indiana Hoosiers and the Iowa Hawkeyes, and have started to play the style of basketball that they are known for.

They are playing stellar on the defensive end, which was a key factor in them coming back from an 11-point half-time deficit against the Hawkeyes in their last game. They outscored Iowa 47 – 22 in the second half, en route to a 75 – 61 victory.

They have also held a substantial edge in terms of rebounding in their last two contests. They held a 50 – 28 edge in rebounding against Indiana, and a 35 – 29 edge over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Spartans are starting to play the style of basketball they are known for, and that could spell bad news for the rest of the Big Ten conference, starting with the Northwestern Wildcats.

Players to Watch

For the Northwestern Wildcats, Alex Olah will need to have a big game inside for the Wildcats if they want to have any hopes of going into East Lansing and leaving with a victory. The 7’0’’ center out of Romania gives Northwestern a size advantage inside, as the tallest player on the Spartans’ roster is 6’9’’ (Gavin Schilling and Matt Costello). On the season, Olah is averaging 10.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.7 blocks per contest. Standing at 7’0’’ and weighing 270-pounds, Olah is tough to move inside, simple as that. The Spartans forwards will have a tough time guarding the big man, and that could work in Northwestern’s favour. If the Spartans get out in the open and run a fast-paced offense, then Olah and the Wildcats will be in trouble.

On the Spartans sideline, the player to look one again is senior guard Travis Trice. He came off the bench against Indiana, and recorded only 6 points on 1-of-8 shooting. Against Iowa, Trice scored a game-high 25 points, on 7-of-8 shooting from behind the three point line, to lead the team to a comeback victory. On the season, he’s averaging 14.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. The native of Huber Heights, OH is your typical point guard, as he has excellent court vision and distributes the ball effectively, and can shoot the ball exceptionally well from various ranges. The back court duo of Trice and Denzel Valentine gives the Spartans the edge in terms of guard play, which should give them a big advantage on Sunday afternoon.

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In the Big Ten, nothing is ever certain. Any team is capable of beating another on any given night, regardless of who is the favourite. Even though the Spartans enter Sunday afternoon as a double-digit favourite, don’t count out the Northwestern Wildcats until the final buzzer goes off to end the game. With talented players on both sides of the floor, this game should be a great way to kick off a Sunday full of great basketball action.