Wolverines Head to East Lansing to Battle No. 9 Spartans for Big Ten Title

Saturday, March 9

East Lansing, Mich.

8:00 PM

Michigan

Michigan State

Wolverines Head to East Lansing to Battle No. 9 Spartans for Big Ten Title

3/7/2019 2:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Tom Wywrot

» In the regular-season finale, No. 7 Michigan heads to East Lansing to take on No. 9 Michigan State and for a shot at Big Ten title.
» Saturday night's game is the second meeting with MSU in less than a two weeks. The Spartans won the first matchup, 77-70, at Crisler Center on Feb. 24.
» Both U-M and MSU have earned double-byes in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
» This will be the 11th time U-M and MSU will close the Big Ten schedule against each other. The Spartans hold an 8-2 edge in finales.

THIS WEEK
Saturday, March 9 -- at No. 9 Michigan State, 8 p.m.

• Watch: Coach Beilein Media Roundtable

The seventh-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (26-4, 15-4 Big Ten) travels to No. 9 Michigan State (24-6, 15-4 Big Ten) for a shot to claim the Big Ten regular-season title at the Breslin Center. In an ESPN broadcast, tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. with Jason Benetti, Dan Dakich and Molly McGrath on the call.

A Little Bit About Michigan State

• Michigan State hosts the Wolverines with a 24-6 overall record, which includes a 15-4 mark in Big Ten play. The Spartans are 14-1 at home this season, with an 8-1 Big Ten home record. Their lone loss was a 79-75 overtime setback against Indiana (Feb. 2).
• Junior Cassius Winston leads MSU in scoring (18.8 ppg), assists (7.6 apg) and three-pointers made (70; 2.3 per game). Winston's 7.6 assists per game lead the Big Ten and rank third nationally.
• Junior forward Nick Ward is MSU's second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, but he suffered a hand injury -- which required surgery -- against Ohio State (Feb. 17) and is unlikely to play. He was shooting 60.4 percent from the field and pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game.
• Senior guard Matt McQuaid is MSU's top three-point shooter by percentage at 44.0 percent, after draining 55 long range buckets. The Spartans top defender also averages 9.3 points per game and is shooting 81.6 percent from the free-throw line. Redshirt senior forward Kenny Goins is pulling down a team best 8.9 rebounds per game, while averaging 8.3 points per contest.
• Michigan State, which averages 79.9 points per game, has three players averaging in double figures. In Big Ten play, MSU has five players scoring in double digits.
• Nationally, MSU ranks third in the country in assists, averaging 19.3 per contest. The Spartans are fifth in the country in blocks (5.5), fourth in field-goal defense (37.5 percent) and fifth in rebounding (41.2). Overall, MSU shoots 48.9 percent from the field, which ranks 14th.
• Tom Izzo is in his 24th season as head coach at Michigan State. He has led the Spartans to eight Big Ten regular-season titles, seven Final Fours and led the Spartans to the 2000 national title.

The Series With the Spartans

• Saturday's game will mark the 189th all-time meeting between Michigan and Michigan State.
• U-M leads, 106-82, in the all-time series with Michigan State. After winning three straight games, the Wolverines had their streak snapped with a 77-70 home loss on Feb. 24.
• The Maize and Blue is 38-50 all-time against the Spartans in games played in East Lansing. U-M has won two of its last four trips to the Breslin Center and three of the last seven.
• There have been eight overtime games in the series with U-M holding a 6-2 advantage. The last OT game was a 76-66 U-M setback at the Breslin Center on Feb. 1, 2015.
• Saturday's game will mark the 15th time Michigan and Michigan State have faced each other when both programs were among the nation's top 25. The Spartans lead, 8-6.
• There have been 37 games decided by three points or fewer with U-M leading, 21-16. The last time a game was decided by three points or fewer was U-M's dramatic 58-57 win at Crisler Center on March 2, 2013. With the game tied at 56 with 23 seconds left, Trey Burke's steal and dunk gave the Wolverines a two-point advantage. MSU's Derrick Nix was fouled with eight seconds remaining, and went 1-for-2 from the line as the Spartans trailed by one. After a foul, U-M's Mitch McGary missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving MSU a chance for a final shot. On the final possession, a steal by Burke with one second left sealed the win for the Wolverines.

Earlier This Season

• In a game that saw 16 lead changes and nine ties, then-No. 7 Michigan was unable to hold off a second-half rally by then-No. 10 Michigan State as the Wolverines came up short, dropping a 77-70 decision at Crisler Center in the first of two regular-season meetings.
• After trailing by two at the half (39-37), U-M used the first five minutes of the second half to take a six-point edge. A cold spell for the Wolverines saw them convert just four points over the next nine minutes as MSU built a seven-point lead and carried that onto the win.
• Zavier Simpson paced the Michigan offense scoring 19 points as four Wolverines scored in double figures. Jon Teske posted double-double, scoring 10 points while bringing in 11 rebounds, while Ignas Brazdeikis had 16 points and Jordan Poole added 15.

Needless to Say, It's a B1G Day Saturday

• Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue are vying for a potential share of the 2019 Big Ten regular-season title.
• On Saturday (March 9), Michigan is at Michigan State (8 p.m.; ESPN) with the winner staking a claim of the title.
• Purdue is at Northwestern (2:30 p.m.; BTN). If the Boilermakers win they will earn a share of the title.
• U-M's last regular-season title was in 2014, when the Wolverines -- led by B1G Player of the Year Nik Stauskas -- won the regular season by three games (15-3).
• Under John Beilein, U-M has two regular-season titles, sharing the 2012 crown with MSU and Ohio State, and winning the 2014 title outright.
• The Wolverines have clinched their first Big Ten Tournament double-bye.

The Breakdown for the Maize and Blue

• A U-M win and a Purdue loss makes the Wolverines the outright B1G champion and No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Tournament. Seeding = No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Purdue
• A U-M win and a Purdue win makes them co-champions & U-M earns No. 1 seed after winning head-to-head tiebreaker. Seeding = No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Michigan State
• A U-M loss and a Purdue loss makes the Wolverines the No. 2 seed after winning head-to-head tiebreaker. Seeding = No.1 Michigan State, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Purdue
• A U-M loss and a Purdue win makes the Wolverines the No. 3 seed at the Big Ten Tournament. Seeding = No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Michigan

This and That

• Charles Matthews has missed U-M's last two games with a sprained right ankle suffered against Michigan State (Feb. 24). He continues to be listed as day-to-day. He missed his first career game at U-M against Nebraska (Feb. 28), snapping a streak of 69 straight games. During Matthews' time at Michigan, U-M has gone 59-12.
• Ignas Brazdeikis has posted back-to-back games with 20-plus points. In fact he has scored in double figures over his last five straight games. He leads U-M with 25 double-figure games including nine 20-plus point games. He leads U-M with 14.8 points per game. The last Wolverine freshman to lead the team in scoring was Trey Burke, who also scored 14.8 points per game in the 2012-13 season.
• After not recording an assist against Minnesota (Jan. 22) at Crisler Center, Zavier Simpson has dished 94 (7.8 apg) dimes over his next 12 games, including four games with double-digit dimes. In fact, he had a career-best 12, twice -- against Ohio State (Jan. 29) and against at Minnesota (Feb. 21). He added 10 more against Nebraska (Feb. 28) and at Maryland (March 3).
• Simpson is second in the Big Ten in assists (6.3) with 189. He leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.2 (189A to 59 TOs). The last U-M player to record 200-plus assists was Trey Burke in 2012-13 (260).
• Jon Teske has made it three straight games posting a double-double after his 11-point, 10-rebound performance in U-M's win at Maryland (March 3). The mini-streak started with Michigan State (Feb. 24): 10 points, 11 rebounds, followed by Nebraska (Feb. 28): 22 points (career-high), 10 rebounds
• Over his last four games, Teske is averaging 15.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He is shooting 61.1 percent from the field (22-for-36) and 46.7 percent from long range (7-for-15).
• With Matthews missing the last two games, Isaiah Livers has returned to the starting lineup and posted back-to-back double-figure scoring games. Prior to those two performances, he had six total double-digit games in his 26 contests.
• In those two starts, Livers has averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, while making three three-pointers in each game. He added his first career double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) against Nebraska (Feb. 28). As a freshman, Livers started 22 games.
• With Livers sliding over to replace Matthews, it has opened a spot for a new five man to back up Teske. After a coaching staff vote and discussion, freshman Colin Castleton got the call and responded with a career-best 11 points (5-for-7 FGA) and three rebounds against Nebraska (Feb. 28) in nine minutes. He followed playing a solid five minutes guarding Maryland's Bruno Fernando in his next game, adding two points on an inside dunk.
• After becoming a fan-favorite with his first career three-pointer in the NCAA Sweet 16 win over Texas A&M, sophomore C.J. Baird or "Three-J" has made two big threes this season in the waning minutes of games, much to the U-M's crowd delight. First he drained a triple against Chattanooga (Nov. 23) and followed with a second against Nebraska (Feb. 28). Known for his scout team shooting, Baird can hit the triple from all over the court, just ask his teammates.