Coming off of another victory, the No. 18-ranked Michigan State men's basketball team is in for a stern test, as the Spartans travel to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and will broadcast on FOX.

The Spartans currently sit at 11-2 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play on the 2024-2025 season. Most recently, MSU finished off the the non-conference section of its schedule with an 80-62 victory over Western Michigan on Monday.

The Buckeyes come into Friday's game 9-4 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play. Last time out, OSU earned a 103-83 victory over Indiana State.

As conference play resumes, the Spartans will be looking to pass their first Big Ten road test of 2025 against an Ohio State team that has been playing really well recently. Let's take a deeper look into the matchup.

Michigan State: Depth Chart and State of the Team

1 - Jeremy Fears Jr. (6’2” RS Fr.)

2 - Jaden Akins (6’4” Sr.), Jase Richardson (6'3" Fr.), Kur Teng (6'4" Fr.)

3 - Tre Holloman (6’2” Jr.), Frankie Fidler (6’7” Sr.), Gehrig Normand (6'5" RS Fr.)

4 - Jaxon Kohler (6’9” Jr.), Xavier Booker (6'11" So.), Coen Carr (6’5” So.)

5 - Syzmon Zapala (7'0" Sr.), Carson Cooper (6’11” So.), Jesse McCulloch (6''10" Fr., expected to redshirt)

As mentioned, Michigan State continued its winning ways against Western Michigan, despite a somewhat slow start. MSU has now won six games in a row, and the Spartans now have a mark of 7-0 at home this season.

The Spartans play a style and brand that seems to encompass the identity of this year's team — everyone contributes, everyone defends, everyone rebounds and everyone runs. These are things that head coach Tom Izzo preaches, but the Spartans have bought in and it has led to early season success.

After three games in a row against mid-majors, Michigan State will certainly have a step up in competition by traveling to Ohio State on Friday, but the team's principles will remain the same.

Against the Broncos, a game-high 18 points from guard Jaden Akins — 13 of which came in the second half —paced the Spartans and helped them come out with a victory. In "everyone contributes" fashion, the Spartans also got a career-high 13 points from center Carson Cooper to go along with six rebounds.

The Spartans will continue to need contributions from everyone if they want to stay undefeated in the Big Ten after Friday night's test against the Buckeyes.

Ohio State: Depth Chart and State of the Team

1 - John Mobley Jr. (6'1" Fr.), Ques Glover (6'0" Sr.)

2 - Bruce Thornton (6'2" Jr.)

3 - Evan Mahaffey (6'6" Jr.), Collin White (6'6" Fr.)

4 - Devin Royal (6'6" So.)

5 - Sean Stewart (6'9" So.), Aaron Bradshaw (7'1" So.)

In their first full season under head coach Jake Diebler, the Buckeyes got off to somewhat of a slow start, but they have really picked up their play over the past couple of weeks, including a convincing win over the top-10-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Dec. 21.

Ohio State is led by do-it-all guard Bruce Thornton. Thornton, who is built like a running back in football, averages 17.4 points per game, while shooting 55.8% from the field and 49% from 3-point range. Over the past two games Thornton has scored 30 points and 33 points, respectively.

Aiding Thornton is breakout sophomore Devin Royal. Royal has had one of the best year two leaps in the conference, averaging 14.8 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per games after averaging 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds last season as a true freshman.

In the front-court with Royal, the Buckeyes are getting major contributions from their two transfer big men in Sean Stewart (Duke) and Aaron Bradshaw (Kentucky), both of whom were high-level recruits in high school and bring great size and athleticism to the Buckeyes.

Rounding out the rotation for the Buckeyes is true freshman guard John Mobley Jr., who may be one of the best shooters in the conference (shooting 47.8% from 3-point range) and versatile utility player Evan Mahaffey.

This game will be a major challenge on the road for the Michigan State Spartans. The Buckeyes are a team that has been playing really good basketball, and though the Spartans have been winning as of late, the level of competition they have been playing has not necessarily been world-beaters.

With that in mimd, there is a great phrase in basketball that "defense travels," and I think that will ring true in this one as the Spartans are able to get enough stops to secure a road victory in this game and make a statement that they will be competing for a Big Ten Title this season.

Prediction: Michigan State 79, Ohio State 72

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