Top 10 Current Rivalries in College Basketball
By Jacob Rude
8. Michigan-Michigan State
I know what you’re thinking. No, Michigan-Ohio State is not that big of a basketball rivalry. It certainly comes no where near the magnitude of it’s football counterpart. Instead, one of the top rivalries in the Big Ten is Michigan and Michigan State. But anyone questioning whether this rivalry belongs need just read this quote from Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.
"Do I respect John Beilein? Tremendously. Do I respect Michigan? Tremendously. Do I like them? Not one bit. I don’t like anything about Michigan and they don’t like anything about us, and that’s the way it should be."
Like the Xavier-Cincinnati rivalry, the record is skewed at 97-77 in favor of Michigan. Since the hiring of John Beilein in 2007 at Michigan, the series stands at 7-6 in favor of Michigan State, but the last seven games have come with both teams ranked in the top 25. With the two sides being perennial contenders for the Big Ten title, these games always mean something big when the two sides match-up.