Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Storylines for Michigan vs. Michigan State

Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Key storylines for Michigan vs. Michigan State

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 16: Isaiah Livers #4 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the semifinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 16, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 16: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans meets with head coach Tom Izzo in the first half against the Wisconsin Badgers during the semifinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 16, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Michigan and Michigan State will face off in the Big Ten Basketball Championship Game on Sunday. Here are three storylines to watch.

After months of exciting basketball, the 2019 Big 10 Basketball season all comes down to this.

The Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines will face off in the Championship game on Sunday at the United Center.

The three seed Michigan Wolverines blew through their first two games of the Big 10 Tournament, dismantling Iowa and Minnesota after the double-bye. The Wolverines were swept by the Spartans in their two matchups this season, with the last game coming just one week ago.

As for Michigan State, the Spartans had a little bit of a harder journey. They battled with both Ohio State and Wisconsin after their own double-bye, and will now look for the rare three-game sweep of Michigan.

Michigan and Michigan State have had very different paths to the Championship game. The Spartans struggled at times during non-conference play, losing to Kansas and Louisville. While the Spartans never fell below #10 in the AP top-25, they flew under the radar for most of the pre-conference play season.

The Wolverines path was very much the opposite. Michigan went undefeated in non-conference play, defeating Villanova and North Carolina along the way, and spending over a month as the #2-ranked team in the country.

By the time conference play had elapsed, the tables had turned. It was the Spartans that put together the better conference play, earning a share of the Big 10 Regular Season Title with Purdue.

On Sunday, the regular season becomes nothing but a moot point. While Michigan State swept the regular season series, the Wolverines are dangerous, and arguably have the better resume heading into the NCAA Tournament. Not only does the winner of this game win the Big 10 Tournament, but they likely lock up the top seed in the NCAA Tournament out of all Big 10 teams in the field.

Here are three major storylines to watch in the Big 10 Championship game between Michigan and Michigan State.

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