It might not have the same hype as recent years, but for No. 5 MSU and unranked Michigan, tonight’s game still forces an excited state to divide and pick sides.
“It’s different because it’s still a rivalry yet there’s not as much hoopla around it this year,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “When you have only two days to prepare and have the Super Bowl right in between those days it changes things. I guarantee though that when the game starts it will be that old backyard brawl that it always is.”
Regardless of the pregame attention focused on the game, the Spartans (16-2 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) will look to win only their second Big Ten game on the road this season, after falling to Ohio State on Saturday.
Izzo said the young U-M squad - with only two seniors - has a good mix of talented players.
“They have some experienced inside big men that are very big,” Izzo said. “They also have arguably two of the better forward combinations in the league,”he said speaking of Bernard Robinson Jr. and LaVell Blanchard.”
Tonight’s game marks the 150th meeting between the two squads. U-M leads the all-time series 88-61.
And senior forward Andre Hutson said the rivalry between the two schools hasn’t lost any of its luster.
“I think everyone around Michigan looks forward to this game,” Hutson said. “The series has been kind of down the last couple of years, but I think it will be a great game for both teams.”
The Wolverines’ (9-9, 3-4) lineup features sophomore forward Blanchard, who has scored 20 or more points over the past three games and leads the team in points (18.4) and rebounds (8.2) per game.
Blanchard will likely match up with sophomore guard Jason Richardson in a much anticipated defensive battle.
U-M head coach Brian Ellerbe said both talented players have different styles of play.
“Jason obviously is one of the premiere physical athletes on the wing you can hope to ever have in your program,” he said. “I think LaVell gets things done with hard work and relentless play. Jason is more of a true perimeter player and LaVell is more of a forward.”
Hutson said U-M has played better this year - with a win over Iowa on Jan. 20 and a close contest with Illinois on Jan. 25 - compared to the last couple of years where they were notorious for erratic play.
“They are definitely playing pretty well right now,” Hutson said of U-M’s performance against the two ranked conference foes. “I think in the past couple of years they have had spurts where they would play well for a while and other times where they would be down.”
While still fighting the flu after Saturday’s loss to Ohio State, senior guard Charlie Bell said he knows the Wolverines will use last March’s 114-63 blowout loss in East Lansing as a motivating factor in tonight’s game.
“The score (of last year’s game) will definitely be on their board before the game (tonight),” Bell said, who also mentioned he’s feeling better and is expected to start. “They are playing well right now, so this is not going to be a game where they are going to lay down and let us beat them.”
Ellerbe said many things have changed between the two teams since last year.
“I think they are a deeper team and we are younger,” he said. “Obviously, their basketball team is imposing at a lot of different positions. Tom (Izzo) has a lot of bodies that he can throw at you, so we have an unbelievable challenge ahead of us.”
Eric Lacy can be reached at lacyeric@msu.edu.
