4 Takeaways From Michigan’s Win Over Michigan State in Regular Season Finale

An unmistakable swell of noise began to reverberate around Crisler Center with a little over a minute remaining on Sunday afternoon, the legions of Michigan faithful understanding that another iteration of the rivalry with Michigan State was about to go their way. The Wolverines’ lead swelled to seven before the last-ditch foul fest began. They added 11 more points from the free-throw line to ensure that nothing about the waning moments invited doubt. And when Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg got subbed with 54.5 seconds remaining — having already poured in a game-high 27 points, his second-highest scoring output of the season — he lifted his jersey toward the adoring crowd and screamed in delight. Everything about the conclusion of the Wolverines’ eventual 90-80 victory that pushed their record to an incredible 28-2 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten would feel oh, so sweet. Here are my takeaways: 1. Dusty May and Michigan have seized control of the in-state rivalry With an 83-71 win over the seventh-ranked Spartans on Jan. 30, coupled with Sunday’s victory in which Michigan never trailed over the final 12 minutes, the Wolverines might finally be turning the tide of a rivalry that has favored Michigan State for the entirety of the 21st century. Led by Hall-of-Fame coach Tom Izzo, whose tenure in East Lansing has now spanned the careers of six counterparts at Michigan — from Steve Fisher and Brian Ellerbe, to Tommy Amaker and John Beilein, to Juwan Howard and Dusty May — the Spartans largely owned their maize and blue neighbors. Michigan State entered this weekend having won 33 of the last 50 games against the Wolverines and hadn’t endured a multi-game, regular-season sweep by Michigan since the 2013-14 campaign, a streak that is now over. Even Beilein, who is among the candidates for greatest coach in program history, finished with a 9-14 record against Izzo. Though Michigan State won both of last year’s meetings, the offseason brought what felt like a potential changing of the tide. May and the Wolverines dominated the transfer portal by luring stars like Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara to the program, all of whom are potential first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft. Michigan was reportedly among the rarified air of college basketball’s $10 million club — a small collection of teams with the highest-priced rosters in the sport. May and his staff embodied the modern approach. Fast-forward to the present and Michigan is unquestionably among the best three or four teams in the country, entrenched as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament thanks to a dominant regular season that was the best in program history. The Wolverines had more size than Michigan State, more speed, more athleticism, more depth and more high-end talent. In some respects, it’s a credit to Izzo that both matchups finished as closely as they did considering just how brutally Michigan dismembered most of its Big Ten foes. Fans can spend the next few months contemplating if this represents a legitimate changing of the in-state guard. 2. Yaxel Lendeborg’s perimeter shooting is vital for Michigan without L.J. Cason When backup point guard L.J. Cason suffered a torn ACL during Michigan’s victory over then-No. 10 Illinois last month, the Wolverines lost their most potent perimeter shooter off the bench. Cason, who originally committed to May at Florida Atlantic before flipping to Michigan, was shooting a team-best 40.2% from beyond the arc among players with at least 20 attempts. He’d made at least two 3s in 10 different games, including a season-high four triples during a victory over Minnesota on Feb. 24 that clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for the Wolverines. Without Cason’s scoring punch and perimeter potency, the inconsistent 3-point shooting from Lendeborg, the presumptive Big Ten Player of the Year, comes under an even more intense microscope. Lendeborg entered the game with Michigan State having attempted 4.4 triples per game, though he was only making 32.1% of them. He endured a particularly unsightly stretch from Dec. 21 through Feb. 11 — 14 games — in which he only made nine of 50 attempts, a lowly 18% clip. What Lendeborg did on Sunday, making five of his six attempts from beyond the arc and eight of 12 shots overall, is exactly what Michigan will need sans Cason in the postseason. It marked the third consecutive outing and sixth game in the last seven when Lendeborg buried at least two 3-pointers. He exceeded 20 points for just the third time since Dec. 13. 3. Bench production remains concerning for Michigan State as the postseason nears The game was tied 61-61 with 11:01 remaining when the disparity in bench production between Michigan State and Michigan reared its ugly head. In that moment, the Spartans had only manufactured six bench points, all of which were scored by backup guard Kur Teng on perimeter jumpers. His fellow reserves on head coach Tom Izzo’s bench — Cam Ward, Denham Wojcik and Jesse McCulloch — had combined for zero points on 0-for-2 shooting. In some respects, this is a narrative that has followed Michigan State all season, considering the Spartans rank 171st nationally in bench points at 21.7 per game. It was clear that Izzo’s core four of Jeremy Fears Jr. (22 points), Jaxon Kohler (23 points), Carson Cooper (19 points) and Coen Carr (six points) could largely be counted on for consistent production night in and night out. But any contributions from the other Spartans were flickering at best and absent at worst — even as the calendar turned to March. The difference between Michigan State’s uncertainty and the firepower at May’s disposal quickly became apparent down the stretch. Over the ensuing four minutes, Michigan surged in front courtesy of a 10-3 spurt in which every point was supplied by someone off the bench. Roddy Gayle Jr. (15 points) sliced down the right side of the lane for a short bucket. Trey McKenney (12 points) buried two 3-pointers and added two free throws in between. And suddenly, in what felt like a flash, the Wolverines built a three-possession lead that they never surrendered. Nobody from the Spartans’ bench contributed another field goal. By game’s end, Michigan had finished plus-21 in bench points. 4. Physicality and extracurricular activity contribute to sloppy start [Jeremy Fears T’d Up For Kick Toward Groin] During an early media timeout, May paused for a sideline interview in which he was asked about the “chippy-ness” that marred the opening 10 minutes on Sunday afternoon. May, who hardly minces words, told the reporter that he hoped an actual game of basketball would break out at some point — a stark contrast to the veritable wrestling match he’d witnessed thus far. By then, Fears had been assessed a technical foul at the 14:24 mark for kicking his right leg backward into the groin of counterpart Elliott Cadeau. It marked the second time in as many rivalry games against Michigan that Fears, who leads the nation with 9.1 assists per game, was embroiled in controversy. His aggressive hacking of Lendeborg on a fast break drew an intentional foul during the first matchup between these teams. He also made an identical kick-back move into the groin of Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds earlier this season. A sign in the Michigan student section read “Jeremy Fears DPOY — Dirtiest Player of the Year.” There were additional technical fouls doled out to Mara for shoving an opponent while battling for an offensive rebound and to McKenney for slapping the ball away during an attempted in-bounds pass by the Spartans. The referees seemed to visit the monitor every few minutes for a video review, with both coaching staffs appealing for flagrant fouls at one point or another. When the hubbub and hostility finally settled, there had been nine fouls called on Michigan State and eight on Michigan in the opening half. The Wolverines enjoyed a plus-four advantage in free-throw attempts and made all 12 shots they took from the line. A corner 3 by Nimari Burnett with 15 seconds remaining gave May’s team a one-point lead at the break. 4½. What’s next? There wasn’t much at stake for Michigan beyond fierce, in-state pride for Sunday’s finale. The Wolverines had already secured the outright Big Ten regular season title by defeating then-No. 10 Illinois on Feb. 27 — which assured them of the No. 1 seed in this year’s conference tournament — and they’ve already assembled a résumé strong enough to land on the top line of the NCAA Tournament bracket. Still underway, however, is their back-and-forth battle with top-ranked Duke to be the No. 1 overall seed come Selection Sunday. A head-to-head loss to the Blue Devils last month dims Michigan’s chances unless Duke stumbles during the ACC Tournament this week. For Michigan State, though, the scenarios were more nuanced. Izzo and his team knew they would enter the conference tournament no worse than the No. 3 seed, but the Spartans still had multiple paths toward earning the No. 2 seed based on what unfolded at Crisler Center and in several other games around the league. But a victory by No. 9 Nebraska over Iowa on Sunday evening allowed the Cornhuskers to leapfrog Michigan State in the pecking order. Izzo’s team will be the 3-seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Read More

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