This game is different.
The rivalry, the style of play, everything about it hits harder. The product on the floor, the way the game is officiated and played, none of it resembles a standard college basketball game.
Last year, it felt like Michigan went into the game without that knowledge. It looked like Dusty May’s program was learning about the rivalry on the fly.
Michigan took its embarrassment on the chin. A great regular season — and a potential banner — went out the window because it couldn’t match Michigan State’s fight and physicality.
May went out and recruited players like Morez Johnson Jr., Elliot Cadeau, Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara because he realized the standard. Tonight, his players proved they could match the fight.
The Wolverines were the better team on paper, but they hadn’t proven that they could win in a place like this against a program like this. They hadn’t shown they have the composure to weather a momentum-shifting run, handle 15,000 angry fans, and make the plays it takes to win this rivalry game.
It took a bit of everything, but Michigan’s 83-71 win in East Lansing is the strongest endorsement yet of this No. 1-ranked KenPom team.
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