In their first NCAA Final Four appearance since the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines had answered many of the questions posed by critics and had found a way to will themselves into Monday night’s championship game.

Unlike the days of the Fab Five, this group has overreached the expectations of many.

Anchored by national player of the year Trey Burke, U-M’s men’s basketball team appears poised and ready to do something no Big Ten school has done since 2000.

Across the state, an outpouring of support has mounted on behalf of the Wolverines. In almost every city you visit, a wave of maize of blue seems to follow.

In The Detroit News, an editorial was published before Saturday night’s game advocating statewide support for U-M in their game against Syracuse. Following their win, equal sentiments for united support have become a staple in many tweets and posts found on social media sites.

Almost everywhere you looked, it was difficult not to be reminded by someone that, for now, we all should consider ourselves Wolverines.

But this sentiment doesn’t have to hold true in the hearts of the current students, alumni and fans of MSU.

Without question, U-M’s run at the national championship is the final touch to what has been an incredible season.

As one of the top-performing teams all season, the Wolverines have been battle tested and repeatedly been forced to find ways to pull off a win. Throughout the tournament, this will-to-win mindset helped them pull away with unlikely victories against schools such as the No.1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks.

But all respect aside, at the end of the day, one thing remains true: U-M is, and always has been, our rival.

If someone were to visit East Lansing Saturday night and had been in a place where MSU students were watching the game, it likely is the reaction they would have observed at the end wouldn’t have been of support.

Just as many U-M faithfuls would find it hard to cheer for MSU, the rivalry that divides our state can’t be postponed for a night.

Although it’s great to see schools from the Big Ten Conference do well in the NCAA Tournament, in some instances, a line has to be drawn.

When Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was asked whether he would be supporting U-M for the remainder of their tournament run, his answer seemed to accurately sum up the sentiments felt across his campus.

“I’m pulling for our conference, number one,” he said. “There’s a difference between a dislike for your rival and no respect. Am I gonna carry the Michigan banner? Probably not.”

No matter how Monday night’s game finishes, many of us already know what the next year will entail.

With their trip to the finals, U-M fans will find leverage to gloat and remind the rest of the state why they still have supremacy over every other school.

The Wolverines might have earned their place in Monday night’s game, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop being Spartans.