Nine thoughts on Sunday’s rematch with Michigan State

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Michigan wraps up the regular season against Michigan State on Sunday (4:30 p.m., CBS) in a game that’s nearly a mirror image of last year’s regular-season finale. Last year, the Spartans had lapped the Big Ten and had a chance to rub it in their rival’s face. This year, Michigan hopes to do the same.

The Wolverines have a chance to celebrate on Sunday, but they’ll have to take care of business on the floor to make it an enjoyable evening at the Crisler Center.

Here are nine thoughts that set the stage for the rematch.

1. Michigan State keeps winning, but isn’t exactly the same team

Michigan State is 6-2 since the first meeting and has one of its best wins of the season at Purdue during its recent five-game winning streak, but the efficiency numbers point to some regression.

After the first game in East Lansing, the Spartans were ranked 12th nationally by Bart Torvik, 48th on offense, and 2nd on defense. Since that first meeting, the defense has been on a slide, while the offense has improved.

Michigan State is ranked 20th since the first meeting  — 18th on offense and just 55th on defense — and has allowed over 1 point per possession in six of its last eight games. One notable area of fall off is at the rim: opponents shot 51% at the rim through January, compared to 60% since.

Even on the glass, Michigan State has gone from best in the country — 6th in offensive rebounding and 1st in defensive rebounding rate — to just very good: 25th in offensive rebounding and 31st in defensive rebounding.

Sometimes trends in the Big Ten are simply a product of who you play and when you play them.

Michigan State’s offensive improvement — over 1.2 PPP in four of the last five games — is notable, but the defense looks more pedestrian than it did before the first matchup, when Michigan State entered the game ranked No. 1 in KenPom defense.

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