Matchups between Michigan and Michigan State always will have meaning to their fan bases.
In terms of the Big Ten race, the regular-season finale between the in-state rivals in East Lansing on Sunday afternoon is essentially a tuneup for the conference tournament.
The eighth-ranked Spartans clinched the regular season title outright with a 91-84 road win over Iowa on Thursday. They had that opportunity because No. 17 Michigan, the only team that could catch Michigan State in the standings, lost 71-65 to Maryland the previous night.
Head coach Tom Izzo has now won 11 conference titles. Michigan State secured its first outright league championship since 2018.
The Spartans (25-5 overall, 16-3 Big Ten) have won six straight games, including a 75-62 triumph over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Feb. 21.
Against the Hawkeyes, Michigan State typically relied on balance and depth to wear down the opponent. A handful of Spartans reached double figures, led by freshman Jase Richardson’s 22 points.
Iowa led by as much as 14 points and held a seven-point halftime advantage but the Spartans scored 61 second-half points.
“Am I happy we won the Big Ten? I’m ecstatic,” Izzo said. “I’ll be ecstatic when I walk out of this building, till I get to the plane, then the (former football coach) George Perles rule is out the door because it’s Michigan week, so we start preparing for them right away. I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat and tell you I’m excited how we played just because we won, because that’s not going to get me where I think we can go and need to go.”
Iowa shot 47.6 percent and Izzo knows his defense has to be tighter for his team to make deep tournament runs.
“(Thursday) was an eye-opener on what happens if you deviate from who you are. I think it’s a good lesson for all of us,” he said. “I thought it would take four or five losses to win the league. We’re at three, we got one left. Not far off, anyway. To win it outright, now we’ll see if we can handle a little success, because I didn’t like the way we handled it.”
The Wolverines (22-8, 14-5) could use a confidence boost heading into the tournament after losing their last two games. They were blown out by Illinois, 93-73, prior to their loss to the Terrapins.
“This is a big test for us,” coach Dusty May said. “This is the most adversity this group has faced, and so we’ll learn a lot about ourselves here these next few weeks.”
Getting more out of their guards and wings will be paramount for Michigan to make March memorable. Against Maryland, the 7-foot duo of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin combined for 40 points, 23 rebounds and seven assists. The rest of the team shot 10-for-32 from the field.
“I have a lot of confidence in these guys. We’ve got great character in the locker room,” May said. “We have good players. I wish there was a button to get more playing up to their capabilities, but we’re not giving up on anyone. I believe in this group – just like I did when we recruited them.”
