EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo brushed off the anomaly of a near-collapse against Rutgers, because Michigan State basketball has far more important things to worry about in the future without worrying about the past.
Just like how the Spartans don’t want to think about losing to Michigan in the first meeting and are focusing on finishing the regular season strong.
“Every game is valuable,” point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said after practice Friday, March 6. “The better you do, the better chance you give yourself in the playoffs. Obviously, you want to give yourself the best shot for something special.”
That won’t be a Big Ten title this season for No. 8 MSU (25-5, 15-4). The No. 3 Wolverines (28-2, 17-1) wrapped that up already and locked up the top seed for next week’s conference tournament in Chicago. U-M also appears to be a shoo-in for a 1-seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed in a week.
The Spartans, however, have plenty at stake when they close out the regular season against U-M at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Sunday (4:30 p.m., CBS).
Their five-game win streak, which included a résumé-boosting win at No. 14 Purdue along with Thursday’s 91-87 heart-palpitating senior-night escape against the Scarlet Knights, has skyrocketed them to a potential 2-seed for the NCAAs. With a win, MSU would get the No. 2 seed in Chicago. Lose, and the Spartans will be hoping No. 9 Nebraska loses Sunday at home to Iowa in the conference’s final game. Otherwise, the Spartans will be the No. 3 seed.
But beating the Wolverines after suffering an 83-71 home loss to them on Jan. 30 would go a long way to both adding confidence and bolstering their stake for a 2-seed in the NCAAs.
“They are, I think, the deepest, best, talented team in the country,” Izzo said after practice Friday. “I think they can be a 1-seed. I haven’t seen Arizona a lot, I really like those guys. I love [Connecticut]. But I just think Michigan has more depth than any of those teams, even though they lost to Duke.
“So we’re kind of just looking forward to letting it all hang out. There’s nothing else we have to do. We’re not playing for a Big Ten championship. Ironically, they’re not [either], they already won it. But you’re playing for a lot when you play in this game. You’re playing for [Big Ten Tournament] seedings, you’re playing for seedings in the NCAA Tournament. So there’s still a lot on the line for both teams.”
MSU swept last year’s pair of games with U-M en route to winning Izzo’s 11th Big Ten title, tied for the most with Bob Knight and Ward “Piggy” Lambert. The Spartans have won two straight at Crisler after losing four straight in Ann Arbor.
“This is, in my opinion, I think the best rivalry in basketball,” Fears said. “Just being able to be part of that is something special. When you’re playing, it’s always gonna be competitive and fiery. Some years, they win one; some years, we win one. A rivalry wouldn’t be if both teams didn’t win.
“So my goal and our team goal is to come in focused and connected and try to go get a win in a tough environment.”
Dusty May claimed his first this year in his second season with the Wolverines, who went unbeaten on the road in Big Ten play to become the first team since Knight’s 1975-76 Indiana team to do that. U-M’s lone league loss came at home against Wisconsin on Jan. 10, and its only other defeat was against now-No. 1 Duke on Feb. 21 in Washington.
MSU’s four-year scholarship seniors – Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper – are 5-2 against the Wolverines. Their goal is to exit with one more win in the rivalry and to take that momentum into the postseason.
“I can say a bunch of things about this rivalry and about the other guys,” Kohler said Friday. “But you know what? I’m more focused on playing them. I’m more focused on how are we gonna go to their place and beat them, how are we gonna execute that? And I really feel like we have a chance.
“We’ve grown so much since the last time we played them. … This rivalry has meant a lot to me, because it’s given me another gear that my that my mind kind of goes into. Every game, I treat it like my last. And it’s most important when you have a game like this, especially at their place, there’s another gear that no other opponent can match.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball visits U-M with chance to boost NCAA résumé