It may not mean anything for Michigan basketball in the final standings, but good luck finding anyone who feels that way.
Whenever Michigan and Michigan State basketball meet, it’s always special, but when both teams are in the top-10, it’s the regular season finale and bragging rights are on the line, the environment at Crisler Center on Sunday, March 8 should be special.
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Dusty May’s Michigan squad is a big favorite over Tom Izzo’s MSU Spartans, according to the sportsbooks and the analytic models, but what do our Free Press sports writers think?
Here are their predictions for the top-10 rivalry showdown:
Tony Garcia
Michigan has wrapped everything up and MSU has something to prove, right? Not sure it matters in this one. The Wolverines have waited nearly a decade to sweep the Spartans and, with their best team perhaps of all time, capitalize on the moment. Michigan neutralizes MSU’s physicality with its own size and length and caps its senior night perfectly. The pick: U-M 82, MSU 73.
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Carlos Monarrez
Michigan will close out one of its greatest regular seasons with a blowout win over its hated rival, which just escaped losing to lowly Rutgers on senior night at Breslin. Keep your eyes on Spartans guard and kicking/tripping enthusiast Jeremy Fears Jr., who’s bound to do something controversial. The pick: U-M 88, MSU 69.
Jeff Seidel
Can we just pause and appreciate something: final game of the regular season. Two top 10 teams. Two great coaches. And lingering heat from the first meeting. This. Is. Incredible! Oh, one other thing: It’s March. Tom Izzo is still the MSU coach. And that means, this MSU team is different from the first time these two teams met in late January. If this game were at MSU, I’d pick the Spartans. But Dusty May is a tremendous coach in his own right and he’s got a great team. The pick: U-M 81, MSU 78.
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Chris Solari
SOLARI: Michigan State basketball gets March Madness lesson on closing games
It is another physical grudge match, with the Spartans taking a swing early and holding pace throughout by relying on their defense. But the Wolverines’ depth of talent wears on MSU, and Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara control the low blocks to give U-M the season sweep. The pick: U-M 78, MSU 73.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State vs Michigan basketball picks, predictions
