Michigan State Spartans (17-4, 7-3 Big Ten) at Northwestern Wildcats (7-12, 0-8 Big Ten)

Evanston, Illinois; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Northwestern aims to break its seven-game skid when the Wildcats take on No. 16 Michigan State.

The Wildcats are 5-8 on their home court. Northwestern has a 4-12 record against teams above .500.

The Spartans are 7-3 against Big Ten opponents. Michigan State scores 81.7 points while outscoring opponents by 21.8 points per game.

Northwestern makes 43.5% of its shots from the field this season, which is 6.1 percentage points higher than Michigan State has allowed to its opponents (37.4%). Michigan State averages 7.9 more points per game (81.7) than Northwestern gives up to opponents (73.8).

The matchup Sunday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Taylor Williams is averaging 10.7 points and 9.3 rebounds for the Wildcats. Melannie Daley is averaging 13.2 points over the last 10 games.

Julia Ayrault is shooting 34.9% from beyond the arc with 1.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Spartans, while averaging 16.2 points and eight rebounds. Theryn Hallock is shooting 42.3% and averaging 15.8 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 2-8, averaging 69.3 points, 31.9 rebounds, 18.7 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.2 points per game.

Spartans: 6-4, averaging 75.5 points, 34.2 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 11.6 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 41.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.