Michigan vs Michigan State: 2019 Big Ten Championship game preview, TV scheudule
By Adam Childs
Michigan and Michigan State meet up for the third time in three weeks. This time it is for the Big Ten tournament championship. Can Michigan State sweep the season series or will Michigan get revenge and claim their third straight title?
Matchup: Michigan Wolverines (28-5) vs Michigan State Spartans (27-6)
Date and time: Sunday, Mar. 17 at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET
TV schedule: CBS
Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
Michigan and Michigan State will meet Sunday in the Big Ten tournament championship game and the third time in three weeks. The Spartans ruined Michigan’s perfect home record and then defended their home court last Saturday to sweep the regular season series. The Wolverines led both games in the second half before Cassius Winston led the Spartans back as they pulled away late in both games, turning close games into comfortable wins for the Spartans.
Michigan State is in the championship after beating Ohio State by seven and Wisconsin by 12. The game against the Buckeyes was close in the first half before the Spartans went up big in the second half. Even though Ohio State closed to within seven for the final score it was not that close. In the game against Wisconsin the Spartans never trailed and won easily.
The Spartans have Nick Ward back but he is still limited and have missed Joshua Langford for most of the season, but haven’t missed a beat as Winston has carried the way. Winston was just named Big Ten player of the year and he has lived up to the title by scoring 18 and 21 points in their first two games of the tournament. When he is playing well the Spartans are one of the best teams in the country. Michigan learned this first hand in the two meetings this year as Winston dropped 27 and 23 points. The Wolverines did a good job holding him in check in the first half of their last meeting but Winston exploded in the second half when the Spartans took control.
Michigan has turned into one of the best tournament teams in all of college basketball the last three years and nothing seems to have changed this year. The Wolverines blew out the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday night by 21 and then followed it up with a 26 beat down of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a game that wasn’t even that close. The Wolverines have won a record best 10 games in a row in the Big Ten tournament and are looking to become the first team ever to win three titles in a row.
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To win a third though, they must continue to shoot the ball well like they have in the first two games of the tournament. They have hit ten three-pointers in both of their games. Isaiah Livers was the hot hand against Minnesota as he scored a career-high 21 points. Zavier Simpson has also shown why he is one of the best point guards in the country as he has dished out 20 assists to just one turnover. The Wolverines will need him to continue to play like that if they want to win.
All eyes are going to be on the matchup between Winston and Simpson and it shouldn’t disappoint. Their teammates are going to be important in this game, but whatever point guard plays better their team will win. Winston has gotten the better of him the first two games and will still probably score more points, but if Simpson is close to him on the stat sheet, the Wolverines will win.
Michigan has only give up three made three-pointers in their first two games as their defense has tightened up. It has helped that Charles Matthews is back from injury. His shot is a little off right now, but his defense has been spot on. Winston, though, is great at driving and finding open guys like Nick McQuaid and Kenny Goins. Both are shooting at least 38% from deep. If they get hot the Spartans will beat the Wolverines for a third straight time.
Even though the Spartans have won both meetings this year, these teams are very evenly matched. The games were heavyweight fights, with the Spartans landing the knock-out blow in the second half of both games. The Wolverines, though, are just a different team come tournament time. They have looked unbeatable the first two games and have the confidence that they can beat anyone. The Spartans are good enough to get the win and have shown they can slow the Wolverines.
It is always tough to beat a team three times in one season and the Wolverines are hoping to prove that true. If the Wolverines play like they did the first two games, they will win the game. The Spartans are much better than the first teams Michigan has played and will put up a fight. In such an evenly matched game and on a neutral court, you look for the key difference and in this case it just might be the Wolverines confidence come tournament time.
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As we stated before they are just a different team and I believe that is enough to carry them to a record third straight title. This is going to be a fun game to watch and should be close throughout, but Michigan does not let the Spartans come back in the second half this time and come away with a hard fought win.