Michigan State couldn't have picked a better time for a bye. Coming off back-to-back wins that evened their Big Ten record but still dealing with nagging injuries (Maurice Joseph's ankle sprain), the Spartans have five days to get healthy and get re-acclimated with one another for what amounts to one of their biggest games of the season.

In the Big Ten basketball landscape, Penn State has never carried much cache. The Lions have two NCAA appearances - in 1996 and 2001 - and generally have been a lower-division team. But this year is different. They have one of the best 1-2 punches in the league in Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley, and they are legitimate tournament contenders (longshots because of some suspect early-season losses, but legitimate nonetheless).

MSU has very few winnable road games on its schedule. There are no trips to Northwestern or Minnesota, the worst two teams in the leagues. Winning at Ohio State, Wisconsin and even Illinois will be more than a chore. And with upcoming home dates against the Buckeyes and Badgers, two top-five teams, they're bound to need at least one road win to stay .500 and reach their 10th straight NCAA tournament. Along with February trips to Purdue and Michigan, Saturday's Penn State game is MSU's best chance.

Coincidentally, Penn State starts the week at Michigan for what's shaping up to be a very important game for the Wolverines. As expected, Michigan never really threatened in its first conference road game Saturday at Purdue. The Wolverines have a suspect  14-4 record, but two more get-confident games this week against Penn State and Purdue before getting into the meat of their schedule.

After this week, the Wolverines have just two sure-wins before the Big Ten tourney, home games with Iowa and Minnesota, and no doubt those teams are looking at the games as their best chance to steal one on the road. Tommy Amaker's team needs a bounce-back performance this week to stay within striking distance of the tournament.