Michigan State traditionally has played a brutal nonconference schedule to provide early tests before it dives into Big Ten competition.
Wednesday night's home matchup with Eastern Michigan may have been viewed as one of the more forgiving games on the slate, but the Eagles won't feel threatened by the 25th-ranked Spartans after toppling another in-state foe last week.
Michigan State (7-3) has yet to pick up a statement victory, having fallen to then-No. 4 Duke on Nov. 18, then-No. 11 Kansas on Nov. 30 and in overtime at Notre Dame on Dec. 3. The Fighting Irish have since climbed to No. 21 in the AP poll.
The Spartans have won back-to-back blowouts - 85-52 over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 6 and 87-61 over Oakland on Sunday - since the loss in South Bend, and their only victory over a major-conference opponent came against Marquette on Nov. 28.
Denzel Valentine scored 19 points while hitting 5 of 6 from 3-point range and Branden Dawson added 15 against Oakland as Michigan State shot a season-best 58.8 percent from beyond the arc.
The Spartans lead the nation in 3-point percentage at 45.6, but coach Tom Izzo is most concerned with his squad's defense and getting Dawson to play at a high level on a nightly basis.
Dawson shot 61.3 percent as a junior last season, but he's hitting 50.0 percent in 2014-15.
"I shouldn't say this, but I have been hammering on him. He has got to play like (he did against Oakland)," Izzo said of Dawson, who is two points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career. "I am not going to pat him on the back until I see weeks, months, a year of consistency."
Eastern Michigan coach Rob Murphy has been praising his team plenty since it stunned Michigan 45-42 on Dec. 9 in Ann Arbor, and he's certainly expecting the Eagles (8-1) to be confident heading into East Lansing.
They've held their last four opponents to a combined 32.0 percent shooting after the Wolverines shot a season-worst 32.6 percent against Eastern Michigan's 2-3 zone.
Jodan Price came off the bench to score a game-high 11 points as leading scorer Raven Lee (15.0) was held to four.
"That is a huge credit to our guys," Murphy said. "Obviously, we put guys in position, but they go on the floor and implement the game plan well."
The Eagles are capping a three-game road stretch against teams that reached the NCAA tournament's regional finals last season. They lost 73-64 to Dayton on Dec. 6.
"Two years ago, when we were laying a foundation of the program, we played (at Michigan) and lost by 39 points," Murphy said. "We closed the gap, and after four years, you want to see your program making progress. You want to come into these venues and compete."
The Eagles will have to keep the Spartans' shooters at bay if they're to pull off another upset. Their opponents take roughly 41 percent of their shots from 3-point range, and they rank second in the Mid-American Conference by holding foes to 28.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Valentine ranks second in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting at 51.7 percent, with Bryn Forbes just behind in third at 51.1. Travis Trice, who Izzo calls the Spartans' best shooter, has hit 5 of 10 from long range over his last two.
Michigan State has won all six meetings since Eastern Michigan's 84-80 overtime victory Dec. 17, 1987.
