Michigan State (7-1) women's basketball faces its first conference test of the season and the Robyn Fralick era Saturday when Nebraska (7-2) visits the Breslin Center. The 2 p.m. Eastern Time matchup will also be the first live linear broadcast for MSU as the Big Ten Network will carry the game live with Kylen Mills and Christy Winters Scott on the call.
The Spartans enter Saturday's league action receiving votes in this week's AP Poll and ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Net rankings through games on Nov. 7, while the Huskers are ranked No. 21 in the NET.
The game will also feature a Toys for Tots drive. Attendees are encouraged to bring a new or unwrapped toy to donate in support of the Marine Corps Reserve. Participants will receive a complimentary ticket to the Maryland game on Jan. 9.
UNL enters Saturday coming off a dominating 108-35 win over UNC Wilmington Tuesday night in Lincoln. The lopsided win was the largest victory margin in school history for Nebraska. Jaz Shelley led Nebraska in the win with a triple-double, scoring 19 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing 11 assists in the victory.
The Cornhuskers' only losses on the season have come against Creighton in a intrastate clash at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska fell narrowly to its in-state rival by a score of 79-74. CU also defeated MSU in Cancun in a 83-69 neutral court loss for the Spartans, their only loss of the season thus far. The other loss for UNL was a neutral-court matchup against TCU in another close 88-81 defeat in St. Peterburg, Florida as part of the St. Pete Showcase.
Nebraska is winning by a wide margin so far this season, averaging 81.7 points per game (sixth best in the Big Ten) while limiting opponents to just 57.1 (third lowest in the league). MSU, by comparison, is averaging a league best 93.9 while sitting sixth in defense, limiting opponents to 58.8 ppg. UNL is also first in the Big Ten in offensive rebounding (42.9) and tied with Michigan for first in rebound margin (+10.8).
Alexis Markowski leads the Huskers in scoring while sitting fifth in the Big Ten at 17.2 ppg. She also holds the top spot in the conference in rebounding with 9.6 rpg. Shelley is second on the team in scoring with 14.0 ppg while leading in assists (4.4 apg) and steals (1.9 spg). Natalie Potts is first in the league in field goal percentage (.672) while averaging 12.4 ppg to round out Huskers averaging double figures. Potts is also 12th in the league for blocks with 0.9 bpg.
Amy Williams is in her eighth season as head coach in Lincoln with a 122-101 record at Nebraska, and her 17th season of coaching with a career 315-210 record.
Nebraska holds the advantage in the series all-time 10-6, all matchups in the series coming as conference foes. The Spartans hold a 5-3 advantage over the Huskers at the Breslin Center, though. UNL is 6-0 in Lincoln with the series an even 1-1 on neutral courts.
Saturday's game marks the first matchup in the series in East Lansing since a Dec. 30, 2021 72-69 victory by MSU. Last season saw the teams face off twice against one another, with the Huskers getting a home-court victory in Lincoln 71-67 on Feb. 2 before the Spartans got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament, besting UNL 67-64 in the second round matchup in Minneapolis on March 2. DeeDee Hagemann led the way for MSU in that win with 18 points, while Moira Joiner was second with 16 points.
Barring another rematch in the tournament again in Minneapolis at the end of this season, Saturday will be the lone meeting between the two programs this season. MSU will return to non-conference action following the game with a visit looming Sunday by Central Michigan. Big Ten play will resume for Michigan State on Dec. 30 with a road game at Penn State.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Join the discussion on this article in our premium forums by clicking here.
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram.
For video content, including our Red Cedar Radar podcast, find us on YouTube and consider subscribing.
