The two top teams in the Big Ten are set to battle on Friday night when the No. 14 Michigan State Spartans make the short in-state trip to Ann Arbor to take on the No. 12 Michigan Wolverines. This will be the first time since 2020 that both teams are coming into this matchup ranked and the stakes could not be higher for this rivalry game.
Head coach Dusty May has his Wolverines atop the Big Ten standings and playing in peak form coming into this one on a six game win streak. This experienced and transfer heavy team is led by two 7-footers in Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin who have each been phenomenal all season long.
On the other end, Tom Izzo has the best team he has had in East Lansing in recent memory as they sit a game behind Michigan and are coming off a massive victory over No. 13 Purdue on Tuesday. The Spartans are a talented team from top to bottom and have given teams issues all year with their Izzo style of play that emphasizes toughness, defense, and rebounding.
The winner of this one will likely take control of the Big Ten until they meet again in a season finale in early March. Here is all you need to know about the first of two matchups between these in-state rivals in the marquee game of Friday’s college basketball slate.
How to watch Michigan State vs. Michigan
- Date: Friday, February 21
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Venue: Crisler Center
- How to Watch (TV): FOX
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Michigan record: 20-5 (12-2)
- Michigan State record: 21-5 (12-3)
Michigan State vs. Michigan odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Michigan State +136
- Michigan -164
Spread
- Michigan State +3.5 (-110)
- Michigan -3.5 (-110)
Total
- 151.5 (over -115/under -105)
Michigan State injury report
- N/A
Michigan injury report
- Sam Walters, F: Questionable (back)
Michigan and Michigan State series history
- Michigan all-time record vs. Michigan State: 97-90
Michigan State vs. Michigan prediction
This game will be a massive spark that this great college basketball rivalry needs. Although it will feature a lot of new faces, especially on the Michigan side, a win will go a long way for either team both in terms of the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament seeding.
To me this game really boils down to guards vs bigs. Sparty has one of the best guard groups in the country with Jaden Akins, Jase Richardson, Coen Carr, and Tre Holloman. Wolverines guard Tre Donaldson will get his, but they will need another guy like Nimari Burnett or Rubin Jones to step up when needed.
This is Big Ten basketball though so you cannot ignore the paint, and I think Goldin and Wolf could have a night. We have seen the Sparty bigs of Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler struggle against some of the elite competition in the conference giving up 24 points to Purdue’s Kaufmann-Renn along with 14 points and 10 rebounds to Indiana’s Ballo.
This is one of the bigger games that the Crisler Center has seen in a while and I expect it to be rocking. I think this one will be close from start to finish, but in the end I give the advantage to the Wolverines who are 12-0 at home on the season.