Photos by: Aaron J. Thornton
Crisler Center in Ann Arbor was electric as fans packed the arena for another sold out game this season. This time it was a contest between the Michigan Wolverines and their rivals from just over an hour east, the Michigan State Spartans in the regular season finale for both squads. In a clash that remained tight for most of the afternoon, it wasn’t until the final two and a half minutes that Michigan went up by 7 and then built that lead to 11 allowing maize and blue fans to finally exhale. The Spartans could not recover from the late surge by Michigan and fell on the road 90-80.
After an intense battle just over a month earlier where the Wolverines won at Breslin Center in E. Lansing, Michigan State entered Sunday eager to avenge that loss and win on enemy ground. Both teams arrived riding momentum: the Spartans had won five straight, while Michigan had four consecutive victories of its own. Even with the Wolverines having already secured the Big Ten regular season championship, the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, and positioning themselves strongly for a No. 1 seed in the national tournament, the rivalry game still carried enormous significance. The win also marked the first season sweep for Michigan over MSU in 12 years.
The Spartans stuck first, opening the game with a quick 5-0 lead before the Wolverines responded to tie up the score and eventually take a five-point lead of their own. The home team went up by as many as nine points in the first half of play behind a dominant 20-minute performance by Yaxel Lendeborg. The pre-season All American put up 19 first half points on 5 of 7 shooting, including 3 of 4 from three-point range, helping Michigan take a narrow 41-41 lead into the locker room. The shooting performance for both teams was nearly equal; however, the Wolverines were flawless at the free throw line, a perfect 12 of 12, which proved to be a key edge. Michigan State was led by their bigs in the opening period, getting 12 points from Jaxon Kohler and 11 points from Carson Cooper to keep the game within reach.
With pride on the line, both teams went back and forth for much of the second half. During the next 17 minutes, neither team could put together a big run to take the lead by more than seven points, which Michigan did twice around the eight-minute mark. Ultimately, the energy and deafening crowd inside Crisler Center, where most fans were in maize for the “maize out,” helped propel the Wolverines through the closing stretch. When the clock hit zero, Michigan had topped their rivals for the second time in the season and won their 19th conference game, making history as the only Big Ten team to ever accomplish the feat.
Lendeborg was unquestionably the best player on the court during the game. When Michigan needed a play, he delivered. After his spectacular first half, he finished with a game high 27 points, knocking down 5 of his 6 attempts from three-point range and converting all six of his free throws. Morez Johnson Jr. added 18 points and 7 rebounds while Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in 15 off the bench. Also scoring in double figures for the Wolverines were freshman Trey McKinney and Senior Nimari Burnett with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Despite foul trouble from Aday Mara and Johnson Jr. limiting their minutes, and an off night by point guard Elliot Cadeau who scored just two points on 1 of 5 shooting from the floor, other players contributed. One of the reasons the Wolverines have emerged as a national championship contender is their ability to absorb off nights or foul issues without a significant drop in production. Even with the season ending injury of backup point guard L.J. Cason due to a torn ACL, players like Gayle Jr. and McKenney came in and played a key role in the win.
After the game, Michigan Head Coach Dusty May commented on the team’s success of going undefeated on the road in the Big Ten and only dropping one game at home coming from the players being “super teammates”, saying “our secret sauce is how great of teammates these guys are, period!”
Michigan State was led by Kohler with 23 points. Jeremy Fears Jr. added 22 points and 9 assists for the Spartans and Cooper finished with 19 points. The Spartans grabbed 28 rebounds to win the battle on the boards as well as edging the Wolverines in steals, with five in the game.
Michigan (29-2) and Michigan State (25-6) will both head to Chicago for the Big Ten Tournament. Both teams have earned triple byes, finishing in the top four of the conference, and thus will not have to play on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Their opponents will be determined after Thursday’s tournament games.
Final Score: Michigan 90 – Michigan State 80
