Michigan 69, Michigan State 50, Big Ten Champions
My best friend coaches high school basketball in California. We grew up in Ann Arbor as hoops obsessives. He called me on the home phone, because that was how you did it then, when local hero LaVell Blanchard committed to Michigan. We bought tickets for $5 apiece outside of Crisler Arena during the Brian Ellerbe era; one time someone insisted on giving them to us for free. We attended every home game during the glorious NIT title run of 2004.
We also watched a lot of games like this from the other side: a Michigan team desperate to maintain some forward momentum getting smashed back to the Stone Age by Michigan State. As the Spartans hung close in a whistle-marred, stilted first half, my friend sent a text: "We're like 10% more focus from winning this game by 25."
Michigan locked in and won by 19, then celebrated their first regular season Big Ten championship since 2014 in front of Tom Izzo. Juwan Howard earned his first banner as head coach and it feels far from his last. The Wolverines could've been sent reeling by their upset loss against an Ayo Dosunmu-less Illinois team on Tuesday. Instead, they grinded through early foul trouble, got themselves together at the end of the first half, and put on a defensive clinic in the second.
We didn't see this growing up.
another Wagner to haunt Izzo's nightmares [Campredon]
After Michigan jumped out to a 7-0 lead, the pace slowed and the lead shrunk due to turnovers (8 in the first half) and fouls (10), both of which had an outsized impact on Hunter Dickinson, who had eight points, four turnovers, and two fouls before halftime in only nine minutes. Austin Davis also picked up two quick fouls, which led to a Brandon Johns cameo at center that sparked a late first-half spurt to head into the tunnel up by 11.
Then the superior team put the hammer down. Michigan State shot 9/30 in the second half, going 7:52 without a point as the Michigan pushed the lead to 28 and making four of those field goals after Howard emptied the bench. Franz Wagner hit three quick three-pointers to end any hope of a Spartan comeback, Dickinson stayed foul-free while going 3/4 after the break, and Isaiah Livers and Mike Smith added triples during the scoring barrage.
defense wins championships [Campredon]
The Wolverines could've stopped scoring after a Dickinson bucket with 13:44 to play and still won. Instead, they continued to pour in points until the game got well out of reach. That allowed Howard the chance to give curtain calls to his seniors—Isaiah Livers, Austin Davis, Eli Brooks, and Mike Smith—in their final home game, then root on the bench mob before the confetti fell.
That was the Michigan team we'd become accustomed to watching before Tuesday. That's a one-seed. That's a conference champion.
They can put a stamp on the regular season on Sunday in the rematch at the Breslin Center. A game-long coronation that possibly knocks MSU out of the NCAA Tournament would be a dream way to head into the postseason. We've been waiting a long time.
[Hit THE JUMP for more photos and the box score.]
All photos by Marc-Grégor Campredon.
You know what? I'm kind of glad it worked out this way, clinching tonight on Senior Night against Sparty, instead of Tuesday.
What a team! What a season!
Great win. The only downside was having to listen to Vitale. Haven’t heard him in a while but he is now shockingly bad
I'm sure I remember a time when I enjoyed listening to him but he has been deteriorating for a long time. He is a caricature of himself.
As soon as I realize that he's doing the UM game, I turn on the radio and mute the TV.
His catchphrases were fresh 30+ years ago, not now. There's no game analysis, and absolutely NO criticism, especially of the coaches.
Yeah, you could tell Vitale was siding with MSU in this game. Tons of Izzo love. The paesanos stick together.
I wanted to mute my TV after that Henry dunk
THATS BASKETBALL
THATS BASKETBALL
THATS BASKETBALL
To be fair, that dunk was awesome.
Does Chaundee Brown not receiving the senior send off portend good things for the future in terms of his return next year? Or did he receive a send off and I missed it?
He was in the senior celebration.
Look at the incredible box score. We were 50% from the floor and 7 from 16 from three. Izzo’s all-stars? 36% from the floor and (gulp) 0 for 9 from three.
This has to be one of the worst shooting MSU teams in a very long time. None of those guys can make a shot outside of 10 feet. And that is crazy considering how well they typically recruit. They are not good in any phase of the game. Roster mismanagement at its finest.
It is shocking that Illinois lost to them. And this is why it is easy for me to discount all the chatter that Illinois rivals Michigan for best team in the B1G.
Absolutely the worst Sparty team that I can recall. Zero threes in today's game is unimaginable.
Sorry, double post, and now I’ve run out of words.
Moar confetti!
Livers kissing the M was awesome!
Henry is a good player. Beyond that, State doesn't have much.
Henry is crazy athletic and can get to the rim, but he has zero outside game to compliment his driving ability. If he develops a 3pt shot, he would be a real beast.
Yep, his only plus last night was slashing and stuff within a few feet of the rim. I'll be interested to hear people's analysis but that slashing basically vanished in the 2nd half. I think Juwan took it away and suddenly MSU went on an 8 minute scoreless streak. Do not F with 2nd half Juwan
Such joy.
spartanfreude oozing everywhere.
In years past, Izzo would have found some foul magic & turn the pressure on UM in the final game.
Now, he's just a bloated, old, washed-up, angry & bitter man - who will have a legacy to the green & white, but the UM faithful know he was a sleezy opportunist, who cheated, and was jealous of Michigan his entire career. Even when he won, he was in a shadow.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Suck it, Izzo.
Go Blue.
Izzo's recruiting is collapsing (again) at an inopportune time when there is a juggernaut building just down the road.
Too early to stick a fork in him?
Wonder what Izzo’s excuse is tonight.
I didn’t catch his presser, but given his prior precedent, a better question (with a shorter answer) might be, what wasn’t an excuse for him?
You'll be shocked to learn he thought there was an unfair whistle and that his team might have been a little tired.
In an earlier post, I talked about this being the type of game Michigan loses. This team is slowly removing me from the BPONE. They are breaking the spell. Removing the curse. Hope springs eternal. Go Blue.
^^^^^^
It's great to be a Meeeechigan Wolverine!!!
Thanks Isaiah ???
i nominate this for our next mgoblog banner. love that pic.
Had forgotten how MSU used its victory a couple years ago when they won the championship to try to embarrass M afterward. Livers' M kiss was certainly fitting for this occasion, no matter what!
There are game recaps, and there are game recaps written by someone who REALLY cares. That was great. Thanks Ace.
Congrats to Michigan for winning handily.
The refs spoiled the game for me otherwise. It seemed like there were way too many whistles on both sides. How many fouls were called just because the losing side in an encounter fell down at the end of the play? As in the Illinois game Tuesday, it seems the ref just tried to call the same number of fouls on each team, regardless of what the situation on the court was. This was not so much an athletic contest, as a disjointed pretext for televised drama.
It was especially annoying to see protracted conversations between Izzo and officials. Officials need to get feedback, but perhaps shouldn't be having extended discussions with the coaches during the game.
When the speaker announced that both team were in the bonus with a large amount of Minutes left in the 1st half.
A guy few row behind me yelled:
"Ref - What the ***BIP***. - Rah Never mind this is Bull****Bip**** B1G".
It felt very accurate.
Feels good, man!
Incredible season led by an incredible coach.
So gratifying to see Howard back at the top of the heap 30 years later.
Whatever the result this season, the future is bright!!!
Great pictures, Marc-Grégor! Very evocative of the game, of the evening.
It's not the bad days that define you (v. MN, v. IL), it's what you do to recover. Certainly, this team has shown its true skill and dominance in 19 out of 21 games! That they won this game by 19 points, especially with the one-sided ref calls, is beyond belief.
When you think about it, given that they will be 3 games short of playing a full B1G schedule and other non-conference games were also called off, it is amazing they will hit 20 wins on Sunday with another victory. That's probably the max anyone thought the team would win when the season started with a full schedule. They are true over-achievers and deserve incredible kudos.
What a year! Go Blue! Beat MSU!
I was 2 years under Lavell at Pioneer...the beginning of this story struck a chord for real. Great writing @ace
THIS look that Juwan Howard gave the MSU bench during the first half. I LOVED it!!!!
When I'm watching us play with a lead (a little or a LOT), I like to play a little game in my head of, "what will be enough points to win this game?" Thank you for putting a time-stamp on it:
"The Wolverines could've stopped scoring after a Dickinson bucket with 13:44 to play and still won."
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