For years, more than a decade, Michigan State was a thorn in the side of Michigan basketball coach John Beilein.
Beilein, the the Hall of Famer who spent 13 years in Ann Arbor and led the program to nine NCAA tournament appearances and two national championship games, had his fair share of success, going 9-14 vs. Tom Izzo’s MSU. But he knew every time he saw the Spartans, his team was going to be for a tough battle.
However, speaking with the Free Press earlier this week on an episode of the “Hail Yes,” podcast, Beilein doubled down on the magnitude of the rivalry and just where he thinks it ranks among the greatest in the sport.
“I contend, and I’ve said this so many times, so much — because of Dickie V, etc. — is made because of North Carolina and Duke every year, this huge matchup, last game of the season — there’s not a better atmosphere than Michigan-Michigan State,” Beilein, U-M’s winningest coach of all-time, said. “Same state, same league. We’re 1-2 and I think Michigan and Michigan State is No. 1 in this type of intensity and atmosphere that you see, I’m sure it’s around at North Carolina and Duke, but not like this one. I don’t think it is.
“This is two state schools, it’s great to see them both when they’re top-10 teams like it was in the last few years of my coaching career.”
The schools met as ranked foes for 11 of those 23 matchups, while five games coming when both squads were ranked in the top 10, which included all three matchups in the 2018-19 season, Beilein’s last in Ann Arbor (MSU won all three contests).
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Michigan blew out MSU 86-57 in Ann Arbor on Feb. 7, 2017 behind four players in double figures, while MSU’s most lopsided win over U-M in the Beilein era came Feb. 12, 2013, when the Spartans won 75-52 in East Lansing.
“If we won they were my favorite,” Beilien quipped, when asked if those rivalry games meant more than other matchups. “The ones we won up there (in East Lansing), too, were really special, because it was so hard to do. I think we won up there three times, it’s really hard to do.
“But those are great, great wins and they were all with the exception of a few, decided in the last minute or last second.”
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The teams haven’t met this year, however No. 7 Michigan State (17-2, 9-0 Big Ten) is all but guaranteed to be ranked in February when it comes to Ann Arbor to play Michigan (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten), which will also find itself ranked next week with a win over Rutgers on Sat. Feb. 1 in Piscataway (3:30 p.m., Fox).
The teams don’t meet for another three weeks after that, but by the time they do in late February, the Big Ten title picture will have come even more into focus than it is right now, near the halfway point of the season.
“I’m going to be there for the Feb. 21 game, that’s going to be madness in Crisler, I can’t wait to see when those teams match up for the first time,” Beilein said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere in both places.”
While Beilien has followed U-M closely since he left, and he still has high hopes for U-M this season, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the job of his pier, Tom Izzo. MSU was picked to finish near the middle of the Big Ten this season, yet the Spartans are the only team which haven’t dropped a game in league play.
In fact, for the first time in 30 years as a coach, Izzo just ran the months of December and January without a loss.
“It’s terrific,” Beilein said of the job Izzo is doing this season. “He’s got his type of team right there. You know, I don’t see, remember the year they had (Jaren) Jackson and (Miles) Bridges, they had so much talent and that’s so hard sometimes, two lottery picks on the team and there’s a lot of distractions that can be there.
“I’m not saying those kids didn’t play had, play smart and do their best, but there’s natural distraction. He’s got guys on this team that just want to win. It reminds me of our (national title runner up) ’18 team … just a bunch of junkyard dogs, too.”
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Fear not, Wolverines fans, Beilein also loves what he’s seen out of this year’s group and first year coach Dusty May.
Michigan was 13-3 before a recent 2-2 stretch that included a lopsided loss to Purdue and pair of overtime games against Northwestern (80-76 win) and Minnesota (84-841 loss), but still, he’s familiar with not riding the highs and lows of every win or loss.
Instead, he sees a group with a pair of 7-footers who cause problems, a dynamic point guard and a team who buys into the coaches philosophies; from there, it’s really up to staying focus on the task at hand.”
“I think they have a roster right now … (they can say) let’s try and get this Big Ten Championship in the regular season,” Beilien said. “We’re only two games behind Michigan State…look at their schedule… go into a schedule where I’d say eight of 10 teams left are tournament teams…so you got to go after the regular season championship.
“Then, if you get it or don’t it, you re-focus and say ‘ok, let’s go after the (Big Ten) tournament championship’ … you’ve got to take it one step at a time … but we can’t say we’re going after the Final Four right now.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: John Beilein: Michigan State vs Michigan rivalry better than Duke-UNC
