Michigan State basketball can make program history vs. Minnesota

Here’s a look at five things to watch when No. 1 Michigan State travels to Minnesota on Tuesday:

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Records: No. 1 MSU 24-3, 12-2 Big Ten; Minnesota 14-13, 3-11.

When: 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis.

TV/radio: ESPN2, WJR-AM (760).

Last year

The Spartans knocked off the Gophers twice last season, a little more than two weeks apart at the beginning of the Big Ten season.

In the first, on the raised court at Williams Arena, MSU opened its 2016-17 conference season with a 75-74 overtime comeback with Miles Bridges out with an ankle injury. Alvin Ellis III hit a pair of free throws with 10.6 seconds left in extra time and finished with a career-high 20 points, rallying the Spartans from a 15-point deficit. Nate Mason’s 18 points led the Gophers, but his shot bounced off the rim and out of bounds as time expired in overtime.

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In the return game in East Lansing, the Spartans asserted more start-to-finish dominance in a 65-47 victory. MSU held Minnesota scoreless for a pair of long stretches early and maintained a 20-point cushion for much of the second half. Bridges had all 16 of his points in the first half, adding four blocks.

But the Gophers won the third meeting, eliminating the Spartans from the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, 63-58. Reggie Lynch scored 16 points and Jordan Murphy had 10 points and 13 rebounds as Minnesota controlled the interior scoring. Bridges scored a game-high 20 points on 7-for-20 shooting, and Nick Ward finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

In a hole

The Gophers finished fourth in the Big Ten last season and earned their first NCAA tournament berth since 2013, though they were upset in the first round by Middle Tennessee State.

This year, injuries and a key suspension has Minnesota mired in a mess. The Gophers are currently without their top four players and 1-10 since Lynch was suspended in early January for an alleged sexual assault.

Forward Eric Curry is done for the season with a knee injury. Guard Amir Coffey continues to sit with a shoulder injury. Dupree McBrayer is battling a leg injury that is keeping him out.

That leaves coach Richard Pitino with a squad that has lost seven straight, including an 80-56 blowout at Indiana on Friday, and sits tied for 11th in the Big Ten. Murphy, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, ranks sixth in the conference at 17.4 points and first at 11.6 rebounds per game. Mason, a 6-2 senior guard, is ninth in the league at 16.5 points.

Home stretch

With the Big Ten tournament moved up a week this year – beginning Feb. 28 to fit it into the busy calendar at New York’s Madison Square Garden – the regular season is down to its final two weeks.

The Spartans’ 68-65 win over Purdue on Saturday gives them the edge for the No. 2 seed in the conference tourney, since it is their only meeting of the season. They both sit a game behind Ohio State, which is 12-1 entering Tuesday and holds the tiebreaker with wins over both MSU and the Boilermakers.

“When you play in a conference like this, you don’t do it on your own, how you’d like to have everything in your control,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said after defeating Purdue. “But that’s not the way it is.”

MSU plays three of its final four on the road, with one home game left against Illinois on Feb. 20. The Spartans play Northwestern on Saturday, then wrap up their regular season at Wisconsin on Feb. 25.

Bridges blossoming

Bridges hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left against Purdue, helping him capture the second Big Ten Player of the Week award of his career.

“It couldn’t have happened to a better kid who worked his tail off,” Izzo said. “He came back for these kind of games.”

MSU’s sophomore averaged 22.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the Spartans’ wins at Iowa on Tuesday and at home Saturday. Bridges made 17 of 28 shots in the two games, scoring 20 points against Purdue and collecting 25 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 96-93 victory over the Hawkeyes.

The 6-foot-7 forward ranks fourth in the Big Ten at 17.8 points and 10th at 7.1 rebounds per game. He is third in free-throw shooting at 88.8 percent, adding 2.9 assists per game.

Shot at history

MSU is 24-3 for the second time in school history, joining the 2000-01 team that reached the Final Four in Minneapolis. A win against the Gophers would break that record for the program’s best start.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

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