No. 7 Michigan State and No. 22 Michigan could be headed for another showdown in Big Ten Tournament
No. 7 Michigan State and No. 22 Michigan could be headed for another showdown in Big Ten Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — No. 7 Michigan State is building momentum as March Madness beckons. No. 22 Michigan, meanwhile, seems to be taking a step or two back.
And yet as the rivals concluded one battle for Big Ten supremacy Sunday, they’re embarking on another at this week’s conference tournament in Indianapolis. The timing couldn’t be better for the Spartans.
“I told all you for the last three weeks, if we start shooting the ball well, we could be a really, really, really good team, because we do the other things really well at a high level,” coach Tom Izzo said after winning a record-tying 11th league crown with the victory over the Wolverines. “I think we’ve made nine 3-pointers in the last three games. Hopefully that gets us going a little bit. I think we’ve still got a ceiling to get to.”
How good could these Spartans be? Some think they could rival any of Izzo’s seven Final Four teams, maybe even the 1999-2000 team that won the national championship.
And while both Michigan and Michigan State earned double-byes into Friday’s quarterfinal round, the Spartans have seven straight wins, an emerging star in guard Jase Richardson and a team surging up the rankings and into title conversations.
But the Spartans recognize it’s going to take more than momentum to get past No. 23 Oregon (23-8) or ninth-seeded Indiana (19-12) in Friday’s first game. The Hoosiers were the last team to beat Michigan State.
“Our strength in numbers,” Michigan State guard Jaden Akins said. “We don’t quit, we just wear teams down as the game goes on. We know we are not going to win the game in the first 10 minutes, in the first half. We know it’s a 40-minute game and just try to stay level-headed.”
Michigan appeared to have the inside track to the regular-season title even after losing at home to the Spartans on Feb. 21. But that loss exposed flaws that resulted in the Wolverines (22-9) dropping four of six, including three in a row to close the regular season.
The skid not only cost the Wolverines the conference crown but also dropped them into the No. 3 seed, behind resurgent Maryland (24-7), under first-year coach Dusty May.
Now May is searching for solutions before facing No. 20 Purdue, 11th-seeeded Rutgers or 14th-seeded Southern California on Friday, hopeful his team can rebound by playing for the tourney title or maybe even a third chance at Michigan State.
“There’s a great divide between first and second place, and we saw that this year,” May said. “We’re going to attack this with some humility and try to figure out how we can make a big jump in the week before we play in Indianapolis.”
Rising
Maryland (24-7) put itself on the cusp of cracking the top 10 by winning seven of its last eight with its only loss coming to Michigan State. The Terrapins open play Friday against either No. 24 Illinois (20-11), 10th-seeded Ohio State (17-14) or 15th-seeded Iowa (16-15).
Indiana finds itself back in the NCAA Tournament picture after winning five of seven following the announcement that coach Mike Woodson would step down after this season.
And the Ducks rejoined the AP Top 25 on Monday after winning seven straight.
Falling
Purdue (21-10) blew a chance at a rare Big Ten three-peat by losing five of its last seven.
No. 18 Wisconsin (23-8) has been streaky all season, stringing early seven-game winning streaks around a three-game skid and then falling out of title contention with three losses in the last five games. The Badgers open Thursday against either 12th-seeded Minnesota (15-16) or 13th-seeded Northwestern (16-15).
The good news for Wisconsin is that guard Max Klesmit, who averages 9.7 points, says he’s ready to go after missing the Badgers’ last three games with a lower-body injury.
Work to do
Indiana and Ohio State may have the most at stake this week, though the odds starting the week favor both making the 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
But it’s not just who gets in. Michigan State could play its way into a No. 1 seed. And pretty much all of the other top eight teams are trying to play their way into better first-round scenarios, too.
The rest of the schedule
Northwestern and Minnesota will play the first game Wednesday, followed by Iowa-Ohio State and Southern California-Rutgers. Fourth-seeded UCLA (22-9) will face either Wisconsin, Northwestern or Minnesota in Friday’s second game. The semifinals are Saturday and the final is Sunday.
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AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report.
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By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
