Thursday hoops spotlight: Wisconsin at Michigan State

Wisconsin (16-9) at

No. 9 Michigan State (21-5)

ESPN, 9 p.m. ET

A season after their national runner-up finish, the start of the Badgers’ 2015-16 campaign showed far less promise. Wisconsin saw its highly successful coach Bo Ryan retire due to health concerns and stumbled to a 9-9 mark and a 1-4 start in conference competition.

But the Badgers have now rattled off seven wins in a row, and the last one might have been the most impressive as they handed Maryland its first Big Ten home loss.

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But the current run started with a one-point home win against Michigan State, a fact certainly not lost on the Spartans.

The Badgers, now under the direction of Greg Gard, have surged back into contention due in large measure to the efforts of junior F Nigel Hayes.

One of the few key contributors on the Badgers’ back-to-back Final Four squads who’s still on the team, he has assumed a leadership role on and off the court.

The Spartans, meanwhile, are rounding back into the form they showed early in the season. A healthy Denzel Valentine has helped, and senior G Bryn Forbes has been hot of late as well.

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