Jan. 29--Michigan State ended its three-game losing skid five days ago against No. 8 Maryland.
Northwestern will try to same Thursday night against the No. 12 Spartans at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats are playing the third of four straight games against ranked opponents and are coming off an 89-57 loss at No. 19 Indiana on Saturday morning.
The only good news from the bad loss for Northwestern (15-6, 3-5 Big Ten) was the 20 minutes and 19 points scored by 7-foot center Alex Olah, who is easing his way back from a left foot injury. Tre Demps also scored 14 during the loss.
Bryant McIntosh, who leads Northwestern with 15.1 points and 7.0 assists per game, struggled against the Hoosiers, scoring six points on 2-for-12 shooting.
Denzel Valentine leads Michigan State (17-4, 4-4) with 18.4 points and 6.6 assists per game.
pskrbina@tribpub.com
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