They all count as one win. That’s the old adage coaches and players will frequently attempt to use to tame the emotions of a rivalry game, but for MSU head coach Tom Izzo, a game against in-state rival University of Michigan is always more than just a regular game.
This year the stakes are even higher than a normal meeting between the two teams, as it will be the only time No. 10 MSU and U-M will face off in the regular season.
“It better mean more to everybody or Jud Heathcote will come swinging back from his crutches,” Izzo said during his press conference Monday.
MSU senior guard Denzel Valentine, who grew up watching the rivalry cheering on MSU, who is currently 4-3 in his career against Michigan, understands this is anything but an ordinary game.
“It’s unreal,” Valentine said. “Going out there, you’re looking around, you’ve been watching all your life, something just gets in your blood and you can barely sleep that night - it’s a huge game for me.”
This will be the first time the two rivals meet only once in a season since the 2008-2009 season, in which MSU defeated Michigan 54-42 in Ann Arbor.
“I don’t think anybody likes it,” Izzo said about only playing U-M once. “I think this is one of the only things in the whole entire United States that the media, the fans and the coaches agree on. I don’t think anybody’s happy about it, it’s the nature of the beast of what we’re in.”
Izzo knows nothing comes easy in rivalry games and said when asked about MSU’s clear size advantage against Michigan, he said that MSU has to adjust its defense to guard a smaller, more shot-happy lineup.
“(U-M is) shooting almost 50 percent of their shots from three,” Izzo said. “So we’re thinking of instituting a 'double-team the perimeter' and leave the post scorer, just because that’s a lot of threes going up."
U-M only has two big men, sophomores Ricky Doyle and Mark Donnal who see significant playing time, and neither produce stats that will jump off the page at you. Doyle averages 4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, while Donnal averages 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
U-M has four players averaging double-digit scoring, including senior guard Caris LeVert who has missed the past nine games for U-M. LeVert was also sideline last season for both of the Wolverines meetings with MSU.
Izzo said he isn’t worrying about whether or not LeVert might play, but noted he would review the film available on him just in case the Wolverines' star is able to go.
“I don’t even know where he is right now,” Izzo said. “I’ve never seen anything so quiet in all my life. … When you bring a guy back it can be a tremendous lift, when you bring a guy back that first game either goes one way or the other.”
Sophomore forward Duncan Robinson, a transfer from Williams College, who sat out last year due to NCAA transfer regulations, is leading Michigan in LeVert’s absence, averaging 12.5 points and shooting a Big Ten best 48.7 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
“(Duncan) Robinson has shot the ball extremely well for them," Izzo said. "He’s a guy that can get his shot, he’s a Bryn Forbes, only he’s 6-foot-7 or 8, so that creates a matchup issue."
Senior guard Bryn Forbes said MSU knows defense and being able to slow down Michigan’s potent offensive attack, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten at 76.9 points per game will be a key for MSU on Saturday.
MSU’s defense ranks first in the Big Ten allowing only 62.5 points per game, which is also good for 13th best in the country.
“They’re a very talented team, especially offensively, they have a lot of weapons that can do different things," Forbes said. "So defense, it’s always supposed to be our main goal, defense and rebounding, that’s what we’ve got to do."
Valentine said on top of playing against U-M, this game means a lot to MSU in terms of staying in the Big Ten race and proving the three game losing streak was a fluke.
“We lost three games in a row so we can’t afford to lose another Big Ten game,” Valentine said. “So we’re hungry, we’re ready to play, we’re ready to prove we’re a top five team and that we can win a national championship - so we’re hungry.”
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Michigan State is currently on a three-game winning streak against U-M, winning both of the team’s meetings last season, including a 80-67 win for MSU in Ann Arbor.
No. 10 MSU and Michigan will tip-off at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game will be nationally televised on CBS. Michigan is 91-72 all-time against MSU, The Spartans, however, are 23-14 against Michigan since Izzo took over in 1995 and holds 9-6 in the current Izzo vs. John Beilein era of the rivalry which began during the 2007-08 season.
