Men’s basketball tipoff: Maryland at MSU

•What: Maryland at MSU

•When: 6:30 tonight

•Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing

•Food drive: Non-perishable food items and cash donations will be accepted at Breslin as part of MSU’s annual food drive, chaired by Lupe Izzo.

•TV/Radio: ESPN/Spartan Sports Network, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM; Sirius/XM Ch. 84

•Records/Rankings: No.11-ranked MSU is 16-4 and 3-4 in the Big Ten; Seventh-ranked Maryland is 16-2 and 7-1.

•Coaches: MSU — Tom Izzo is 511-203 in 21 seasons, all with the Spartans. Maryland — Mark Turgeon is 354-211 in 18 seasons, including 104-52 in five seasons with the Terrapins.

•Series: The all-time series is tied 4-4.

Maryland

MSU

•Maryland update: The Terrapins are probably the Big Ten’s most talented team. In contrast with MSU, however, Maryland’s individuals are sometimes stronger than it is collectively. That’s why Maryland can drill Ohio State by 35 points but also lose at Michigan and barely beat both Penn State and Northwestern at home. Maryland has two first-round NBA draft picks — point guard Melo Trimble and freshman big man Diamond Stone (13.5 ppg) — on a roster that’s more talented than a year ago. Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter and Stone form a big-time frontcourt next to returner Jake Layman, who’s best as a stretch power forward, but is forced this season to play out of position at small forward. Rasheed Sulaimon came to Maryland after being kicked out of Duke’s program.

•MSU update: The Spartans are suddenly struggling, two weeks after looking as complete as ever at Penn State. Iowa both thumped and rattled the Spartans, making them look vulnerable, and they have been since. MSU continues to shuffle its lineup, searching for the best combination, especially with the absence of point guard Tum Tum Nairn (foot). The Spartans might also be without center Matt Costello today. Costello sprained an ankle in the second half of MSU’s loss to Nebraska on Wednesday. As of Thursday, Tom Izzo thought Costello would likely play, though he wouldn’t have been able to go if the game had been Thursday.

Couch: ESPN GameDay gives MSU a chance to quickly change its narrative

•About the matchup: MSU is struggling to keep opponents from getting to the basket. Minus Nairn, that could be hard again today. Trimble is incredibly quick and smooth on the drive. Eron Harris’ will be the Spartans’ first line of defense on Trimble, though it’ll be a team effort to keep him in check. Maryland doesn’t move the ball as well as MSU does, and Trimble can be more of a lead guard than a point guard. If the Terrapins had one more outside shooter, they might be the best team in the country. Sulaimon is their most consistent outside threat percentage-wise, but he disappears from the offense at times. Sulaimon has scored 15 or more points six times this season. He’s also scored five or less a handful of times. If Costello is limited by his sprained ankle, MSU could be in for a long night in the post, with Gavin Schilling and Deyonta Davis needing to somehow stay out of foul trouble.

Defending pick-and-roll key to halting MSU's skid

•Prediction: MSU is due for a feel-good win. And if the Spartans were completely healthy, this might be it. They’d match up well. If Bryn Forbes regains his shooting touch, MSU doesn’t turn the ball over and avoids foul trouble, it can win this game. Oddsmakers even have the Spartans as a three-point favorite. But without Nairn and with Costello hobbled, I don’t see the advantage.

» Make it: Maryland 77, MSU 73

— Graham Couch