3-game streak on the line at No. 10 MSU

Two weeks ago, it was hard to mention Minnesota and Michigan State’s men’s basketball teams in the same breath.

The Gophers were 0-4 on Jan. 10 and trailed the then-undefeated Spartans by four games in the conference standings.

Now, as the Gophers (3-4) and No. 10 Spartans (5-2) prepare for a crucial game Wednesday in East Lansing, Mich., the conference is in the midst of a mid-season shakeup that has seen Minnesota win its last three games and Michigan State lose two of its last three.

The two teams may be trending in opposite directions, but Michigan State should provide a tough test for the Gophers on the road.

The Gophers are coming off a 75-52 home win Sunday against Northwestern that head coach Tubby Smith called the team’s best all-around effort of the season.

 “I was very pleased with our defensive effort,” Smith said. “I thought our energy level was very high. We were working hard at both ends of the court. We took good shots, we took care of the ball, we attacked the basket.”

The numbers back up Smith’s words — Minnesota shot 58 percent from the field and held Northwestern to 33 percent. The team’s starting lineup combined to score 62 points on 63 percent shooting.

That lineup — Ralph Sampson III, Rodney Williams, Austin Hollins, Joe Coleman and Julian Welch — has scored78 percent of the Gophers’ points during their three-game winning streak while shooting 59 percent from the field.

That kind of production is quite a contrast to Michigan State, which used 16 players in its last game, an 83-58 rout of Purdue.

The Spartans have struggled lately, losing at Michigan and Northwestern while receiving minimal contributions from their starting five.

Their first five scored just 29 points at the loss to Michigan. Dreymond Green, a forward that Smith called “a candidate for player of the year,” had seven points on 3-for-8 shooting.

Aside from those back-to-back losses, Michigan State has dominated teams inside all season long with its depth and physical presence.

Smith said a key for handling the Spartans’ front line is the play of Sampson, which has showed small improvements in the last two weeks.

“He really set the tone [against Northwestern],” Smith said of Sampson. “We need him to come out with that energy [against Michigan State].”

Sampson said he is still nursing a sore left ankle, which he injured in November.

“I’m definitely still not as explosive as I was at the beginning,” Sampson said. “These last two weeks, I still wake up, and it’s stiff. It’s a struggle to get through.”

Sampson won the inside battle in the Gophers’ last game against Michigan State, a 53-48 home loss in February 2011. He scored 10 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks and helped Minnesota hold Green to seven points.

But neither Sampson nor his team has had recent success in East Lansing. The Gophers haven’t won there since 1997, losing 11 straight games by at least six points.

“They’ve had great players, and they’ve got a great coach in Tom Izzo, and they’ve got a tough place to play,” Smith said. “That’s a combination for having a winning program.”

The Spartans are 12-0 overall at home this season and have yet to lose a home game by fewer than 14 points.

But the Gophers have won their last two road games, including a 77-74 upset of then-No. 7 Indiana, and remained competitive in their two road losses to Illinois and Michigan.

“It gives us the courage that we can go on the road and play well and get a win,” Smith said of the team’s success away from home.