Michigan basketball is all out of sorts and its falter down the stretch makes Sunday’s trip to East Lansing for bragging rights only:
In the back of our minds, we probably all knew this was coming. This post was far from bold, but was posted on the heels of six straight wins by the Michigan Wolverines . Since then? Three losses in five, with the other two being a sub-50 point effort against Nebraska and a desperate buzzer beater to escape Rutgers. Just about every single arrow is pointing down, which is unfortunate with the postseason essentially here.
All that remains now is a trip to East Lansing. The Michigan State Spartans are headed in the opposite direction, claiming the conference title and eyeing a top-two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps mercifully, Sunday is just for bragging rights at this point, as the Wolverines choked away any chance at regular season hardware. Realistically, it was hard to see them winning this one with anything on the line anyway, so maybe this is for the best.
No. 17 Michigan Wolverines (22-8, 14-5) at No. 8 Michigan State Spartans (25-5, 16-3)
Date & Time: Sunday, March 9, noon ET
Location: Breslin Center, East Lansing, MI
TV/Streaming: CBS
Since winning in Ann Arbor, the Spartans have hit a buzzer beater of their own to win at Maryland and then took down Wisconsin and Iowa. With wins over Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Maryland, and Wisconsin in the last few weeks, there is really no argument who the best team in the Big Ten is. The conference is congested enough at the top that someone else might win the Big Ten Tournament, but credit where credit is due for the regular season.
State’s offense in these contests has not always been dependable, but the defense has been immense, especially in the second half. Teams are getting almost nothing from behind the arc, and the Spartans are consistently winning the shot volume battle. Currently ninth in Kenpom, this is just a tough team that is poised for big things in March.
One Big Question: How does this go any differently?
The first game — especially the second half — was when the alarm bells started going off for Michigan. The Spartans grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and matched the Wolverines at the rim, which showed both better physicality and higher basketball IQ. Michigan dared its rival to take a bunch of jumpers, and while it was not an elite showing from three, State hit enough shots from deep to be the difference.
With the game now transitioning to East Lansing, it is hard to see the outcome going any other way. The home team will seek out transition opportunities, which should be plentiful due to Michigan’s poor shooting, and dunks and threes will only heighten the sure-to-be electric crowd. So much has to be different this time around, but the Wolverines have shown nothing to indicate they have improved since then.
One Thing to Watch: Any sort of hope
As bad as this end to the regular season has been, and oh boy has it been bad, the story on this year is not yet over. A strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament, and obviously in the NCAA Tournament, would show that the highs of early January were not an anomaly. However, for any sort of successful postseason campaign, Michigan will need something to believe in.
That does not necessarily mean a win on Sunday, but there needs to be some things to build upon for the next couple weeks. Maybe it is the return of Danny Wolf. Maybe it is Tre Donaldson getting his shooting stroke back. Maybe it is the emergence of LJ Cason. It does not matter what it is, but there has to be something that Dusty May and company can lean on as Michigan enters the most important time in the year. This is a tough place to perform, but there are no easy games left this season.