How to Watch No. 24 Nebraska Women's Basketball at No. 15 Michigan State with Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The No. 4 UCLA women's basketball team was as good as advertised, and it showed in its 83-61 blowout win over No. 24 Nebraska Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena as the Bruins hit 12 more field goals and three additional three-pointers to run away from the Huskers.

Leaning on First Team All-American and National Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts, UCLA outscored NU 40-26 in the paint, including 18 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and four blocks from the 6-foot-7 Betts. Five different Huskers reached double figures as Amiah Hargrove scored a team-high 12 points. Logan Nissley added 11 while Jessica Petrie, Eliza Maupin and Callin Hake all tallied 10 points. UCLA held star point guard Britt Prince to only six points in a game in which she went only 3-for-11 from the field.

In reality, there's no shame in losing to the Bruins, who are built to win a national championship after reaching the Final Four last season. However, the more worrying concern is NU's inability to win a ranked game — a milestone that's missing for the 2025-2026 squad. They'll have another opportunity on Thursday, flying to East Lansing with a weekday showdown against the No. 15 Spartans.

Here's all you need to know for Nebraska's battle at MSU.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: No. 24 Nebraska (14-3, 3-3 B1G) at No. 15 Michigan State (16-1, 5-1 B1G)
When: Thursday, January 15
Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing, Mich.
Time: 6 p.m. CST
Watch: Big Ten Network
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

No. 15 Michigan State Scout

Head Coach

Robyn Fralick | 3rd season at Michigan State; 11th as HC
60-20 (.750) at MSU; 150-93 (.617) Career HC Record
2x DI NCAA Tournament Apps., NCAA DII National Championship (2017), DII National Runner-Up
1x MAC Regular Season (2021), 3x GLIAC Tournament & Regular Season titles
NCAA DII Bulletin Coach OTY (2017), C. Vivian Stringer Coaching Award (2018), 2x WBCA Coach OTY, 3x GLIAC Coach OTY, 1x MAC Coach OTY
Previous head coach at Bowling Green and Ashland (DII)
Previous assistant at Ashland (DII), Toledo and Appalachian State

2024-2025 Record & Awards

Record: 22-10 (11-7 B1G, T-5th)
All-B1G: 2x Second Team, 1x Honorable Mention

All-Time Series

Nebraska leads 13-6
Jan. 8, 2025, last matchup, 85-80 Nebraska

Michigan State forward Grace VanSlooten (14) has led the Spartans in scoring for the past two seasons on campus. | William Howard-Imagn Images

Key Returners

Grace VanSlooten | F | Sr. | Returning All-Big Ten forward who leads the Spartans in points (14.6) while shooting over 50% from the field for the second consecutive season.
Theryn Hallock | G | Sr. | Another returning All-Big Ten Second Team guard that's averaging double figures, but has missed the last few games as she recovers from a foot injury.
Kennedy Blair | G | R-Soph. | After playing less than nine minutes a game last year, the in-state guard has developed to score 13.4 PPG and a team-leading 7.2 RPG as well as nearly six assists a contest.
Inés Sotelo | C | Soph. | Heralding from Spain, the returning 6-foot-3 center has been limited to eight games this season after working through an injury.
Juliann Woodard | F | Soph. | Played in only 13 games last season, and has already surpassed that mark this year with 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15 games this season.
Emma Schumate | G | Sr. | Has appeared in all 17 games this year as a key reserve, chipping in 7.4 points a contest while making three starts.

Key Departures

Julia Ayrault | G | Graduated | Earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors in her final college season, pouring in 14.4 PPG and ranking seventh in the Big Ten with 1.5 blocks per contest.
Jocelyn Tate | G/F | Graduated | Veteran forward who added 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds as a 32-game starter last season for MSU.
Jaddan Simmons | G | Graduated | 5-foot-9 veteran guard who completed her final college season averaging 6.4 points and four rebounds a contest.
Nyla Hampton | G | Graduated | Played an important role in the guard rotation last year, averaging more than 23 minutes a game and scoring almost five points per appearance.

Former Michigan State guard Julia Ayrault (40) graduated after making the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2024-2025. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

Rashunda Jones | G | Jr. | Purdue transfer who's become the team's third-leading scorer at 12.9 points per game and is second with 66 assists.
Jalyn Brown | G | Sr. | A two-time transfer from Arizona State and Louisville, the Maryland native is an instrumental bench piece for MSU, scoring more than 10 points a game.
Marah Dykstra | F | Sr. | Veteran transfer from Montana State who's started in 10 of her 17 appearances, but only added 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Outlook

A rising star in the coaching ranks who won a Division II National Championship and turned Bowling Green into a MAC contender, Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick is proving that her hype has been worth it. The Okemos, Michigan, native returned to her home state and has led the Spartans to back-to-back 22-win campaigns and NCAA Tournament appearances. Returning a strong core to campus, MSU appears to have taken a step in 2025-2026, starting the season 16-1 with a bizarre loss to Wisconsin, the only blemish.

Returning All-Big Ten Second Team selections Grace VanSlooten (14.6 PPG) and Theryn Hallock (10.6 PPG) bring skill and experience to a deep group, but Hallock has missed half the season due to a foot injury. Having played less than nine minutes per game last season, sophomore Kennedy Blair has transformed into an x-factor for the Spartans, putting up 13.4 points per game while leading the team with 7.2 rebounds and nearly six assists per game. Plus, Spanish center Inés Sotelo (5.4 PPG), Emma Shumate (7.4 PPG), and Juliann Woodard (4.9 PPG) all return to fill out impressive depth off the bench.

MSU's Rashunda Jones (1) has scored nearly 13 points per game after transferring from Purdue over the offseason. | Robert Killips/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Isaline Alexander was set to be another solid contributor for the Spartans, but she was lost for the season in December, just one year after tearing her ACL in the 2024-2025 season.

Purdue transfer Rasunda Jones has been the biggest hit of the portal for MSU, starting in all 17 games this season with a 12.9 points per game average, which ranks third on the team. Arizona State transfer Jalyn Brown has been the ace off the bench for Michigan State, being one of five players to average double digits (10.1). Marah Dykstra has started in 10 of her 17 showings, but she hasn't shown the production that made her a difference maker at Montana State.

A deep team with plenty of scoring, the Spartans have combined an impressive returning group with few transfer portal additions to put themselves in the conversation for belonging in the top third of the conference. Riding high on an eight-game winning streak, which includes three ranked wins in that span, Michigan State has been on a roll. It'd be a safe bet to tab the Spartans for their ninth consecutive win, but my guy says Nebraska to bounce back — give me the Huskers to take down their first ranked opponent of the season.

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