EAST LANSING — The last time the Michigan men’s basketball team went into Breslin Center and drove the hour back to Ann Arbor with a win was in 2018. Wolverines coach Dusty May went 0-2 last season against Michigan State with a regular-season Big Ten title on the line.
Ahead of this season’s rendition of the in-state rivalry in East Lansing, No. 3 Michigan vowed to make it more about winning the game than the rivalry. And the message wasn’t about the years of history, but about how this year’s Wolverines squad can beat the seventh-ranked Spartans.
“Coach Cignetti said, ‘This team’s never played here,’ ” May said. “So we just kind of went into it, obviously, last year we were 0-2 against these guys, but this team that we have in our locker room, they were 0-0, and so we’re not talking about what the past teams have done.”
With two top-10 wins in four days, including an impressive win in one of college basketball’s most hostile environments, Michigan proved it can do whatever it takes and what it needs to do in order to win in big games. And against one of the most storied programs in college basketball, the environment lived up to the expectations.
“This was way more than I thought,” graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg said. “Man, oh my gosh, before we came in, we were getting booed. I was in the locker room, and I was hearing the boos, like, how do they know we were here? It was crazy, I can never believe what I just played in, like it was super loud. … it just felt like they broke the sound barrier. It was crazy.”
In years past — and most recently last season with as high stakes as ever — the Wolverines simply weren’t built to win in Breslin. The Wolverines fell behind and let that world-class environment get the best of them. Even if Michigan could work its way back into the lead, its lack of physicality and its inability to adjust made it impossible to hang on.
But the way May sees it, last season has compounded to make Michigan’s 83-71 win over Michigan State possible with this year’s team.
“Credit last year’s team, they gave us a glimpse of what we could be,” May said. “Then this team has such a high ceiling, we’re not anywhere near being where we need to be if we’re gonna win a regular season championship, which is the ultimate marathon.”
Not a Member? Get UM Hoops+ for $1
For this weekend only, you can get a month of UM Hoops+ for just $1. Unlock access to all of our UM Hoops content, and new UM Hoops+ features like Film Room, Report Card, Live Four Factors Charts and much more.
Join the UM Hoops Community
Join the only community dedicated to Michigan basketball
Get ad-free articles, recruiting, advanced stats, member-only discussion, and the most complete Michigan hoops analysis anywhere.
Already a member? Log In
