The final day of the college basketball regular season Sunday will be headlined by a heavyweight rivalry matchup between No. 8 Michigan State and No. 3 Michigan on CBS. This is a rematch of an earlier season matchup won by Michigan on the road, which allowed the Wolverines to take firm control of the Big Ten title race.
Michigan is coming off an upset scare against Iowa earlier in the week. The Wolverines ultimately walked away with a 71-68 win on the road. Since losing to Duke last month on a neutral court, Michigan has won three straight games ahead of its matchup against MSU. Michigan also wrapped up the Big Ten regular season title after beating Illinois.
Michigan State has won five consecutive games since losing to Wisconsin by 21 points on the road last month. MSU has wins during that stretch over UCLA, Purdue and Indiana. Michigan State is in second place in the Big Ten standings entering the weekend and could be on a collision course to face Michigan a third time in next weekend’s Big Ten title game if both teams run the table.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Michigan’s matchup against Michigan State.
Michigan vs. Michigan State: Need to know
Michigan’s dominance in Big Ten play: Michigan is 18-1 in Big Ten play this season, with the lone loss coming against Wisconsin earlier this season. The Wolverines already set the program record (previously 16) for the most wins in conference play in a season. A win over MSU would make it 19 wins with just one loss. The Wolverines are riding a 14-game winning streak against Big Ten teams and had won eight straight of those games by at least 10 points before it was snapped earlier this week.
Jeremy Fears Jr. chasing MSU history: Fears enters this weekend with 272 assists this season. That is two behind Mateen Cleaves for the second-most assists in a single season in MSU program history. Cassius Winston, one of the best players in MSU program history, holds the record with 291. Fears is averaging 9.1 assists, which leads all Division I players — and has a chance to break the record, depending on how far the Spartans go in both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament
Bracketology implications: Michigan is in the driver’s seat to be a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday next weekend. It doesn’t matter how the remainder of the season shakes out because the Wolverines will likely join Duke and Arizona on the No. 1 line. In CBS Sports’ latest Bracketology projections, Michigan State is a No. 2 seed. MSU having a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament next week would go a long way toward remaining on the No. 2 line.
Where to watch Michigan vs. Michigan State live
Date: Sunday, March 8 | Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Crisler Center — Ann Arbor, Michigan
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
Streaming on Paramount+ Premium
Michigan vs. Michigan State prediction, pick
Michigan State made things interesting in the second half of the first matchup against Michigan before the Wolverines pulled away at the end. Yaxel Lendeborg had a strong showing in the first matchup (26 points and 12 rebounds). I expect Lendeborg to once again play well against MSU’s stout frontline. Michigan wins this game by double digits, just like the first game. Pick: Michigan -9
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