When Iowa State visits the Michigan basketball team Saturday, it'll bring a few familiar faces.

The most notable is former Michigan State guard Chris Allen, who transferred to Iowa State following his junior season and is currently the Cyclones' second-leading scorer.

The 14th-ranked Wolverines (5-2) host Iowa State (5-2) on Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network).

Allen, who sat out last season as a transfer, left Tom Izzo's program prior to the 2010-11 campaign after, according to MSU, failing to "meet all the obligations" set forth to remain a part of the team.

"Coach was straight-forward with me about what I needed to do to remain a part of the team," Allen said in a statement at the time. "Unfortunately, I didn't meet all the obligations.

"I have enjoyed my time at Michigan State and I appreciate all the support from my fans, and everyone associated with the program. It's unfortunate things didn't work out, but I'm leaving on good terms with my teammates and coaches."

This season, Allen is averaging 13.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in seven games.

During his three-year Michigan State career, Allen averaged 7.7 points per game. Against Michigan during his MSU stint, Allen averaged 1.5 points per game in four contests.

Allen isn't the only former Spartan on Iowa State's roster, as coach Fred Hoiberg also received a transfer from ex-MSU guard Korie Lucious. Lucious, who is sitting out this season due to transfer rules, was booted off the team by Izzo in January.

Allen and Lucious aren't the only former Big Ten players on Iowa State's roster, though, as leading scorer Royce White began his career as a five-star prospect at Minnesota, while junior guard Chris Babb is a former starter at Penn State.

White left Tubby Smith's program after pleading guilty to a shoplifting charge in 2009. This season, the 6-foot-8, 270-pound White is averaging 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

The 6-foot-5 Babb averages 13.1 points per game for the Cyclones.

Big Ten bests ACC
The Big Ten earned its third consecutive victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge this week, grabbing an 8-4 edge.

The Big Ten got wins from Northwestern over Georgia Tech (76-60), Illinois over Maryland (71-62), Purdue over Miami (76-65), Ohio State over Duke (85-63), Indiana over North Carolina State (86-75), Penn State over Boston College (62-54) and Michigan State over Florida State (65-49).

After dropping the first 10 challenges, the Big Ten has won three straight — with this year's margin the largest.

Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.