Michigan State basketball can prove itself as contender at No. 13 Wisconsin

Sitting at 12-7 on the season after a three-game winning streak, Michigan State basketball is facing an opportunity on Friday night to make a statement to the rest of the Big Ten.

A win over No. 13 Wisconsin on the road would not only do wonders for the positioning in the Big Ten standings, finally climbing above .500 for the first time this season, but it would also be huge for the team's confidence and the way the rest of the league -- and college basketball as a whole -- looks as the Spartans.

Not that it matters, but a win on Friday night would prove to the Big Ten that the Spartans are no joke and they have finally figured things out.

Fresh off their first road win of the season, which also happened to be their first win by single figures, Michigan State looks like its ready to prove that it can win away from home on a regular basis and pick up a huge win at Wisconsin which is a team that just beat the Spartans by 13 back in December.

This game has revenge and "prove it" written all over it.

Tom Izzo will have his guys ready and the Spartans normally play fairly well in Madison so this wouldn't be a massive shock if they were able to come away with an upset win. It would improve the Spartans to 13-7 overall heading into a huge matchup with a reeling Michigan team without Dug McDaniel.

Michigan State is also running out of opportunities to add Quad 1 wins to the resume and this would be just that. The Spartans don't necessarily need this win on Friday, but it would go a long way for NCAA Tournament seeding and it would keep them alive in the Big Ten title race.

It's time to prove that the 4-5 overall start and 1-4 start in Big Ten play were just flukes.

We're going to need a lot of Tyson Walker and even an on-point Malik Hall in order for that to happen.