The first road game of the season in Big Ten play will be a winnable one for Michigan State as Evanston usually provides a home-like atmosphere with so many Spartan fans in the Chicago-area.
Welsh-Ryan Arena is small, but we should expect a number of Michigan State fans in attendance as the Spartans try to improve to 2-0 in conference play and sit alone at the top of the standings until Big Ten action resumes in January. A win over a mediocre Northwestern team is expected, but no Big Ten team has won a road game in conference play yet this season.