To quote one of the great philosophers of our time, Ted Lasso, you’ve got to have a short memory and “be a goldish” when it comes to the Big Ten schedule.
Michigan picked up a top-five win at home on Tuesday night against Nebraska, 75-72, with the Wolverines handing the Cornhuskers their first loss of the season to take the lead in the Big Ten standings. That win was well and good, but Michigan can’t celebrate for too long and must now focus on the rivalry game in East Lansing on Friday night.
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Wolverines have not won in East Lansing since 2018. Dusty May, who is still looking for his first win over MSU after losing both games last season, has talked to his team about turning the page ahead of the big game.
“(Nebraska) prepares us for (MSU),” May said. “We know how difficult it’s going to be — all of us in the locker room who were here last year, we can certainly attest to that. There certainly isn’t going to be anything easy about Friday night. It’s a game that means a lot for a number of reasons.
“Obviously, the rivalry, the fans, we’re both capable of winning the Big Ten championship. Obviously, a lot is on the line, and we got to find a way to get on the road and play a little bit better and get over that hump.”
In terms of playing better, Michigan needs to turn over the ball less after giving it up 19 times on Tuesday, eight more than Nebraska. We know Tom Izzo and the Spartans will want to push the pace, and Michigan will want to have more than the five fast-break points it had against the Cornhuskers to keep up with that tempo.
May doesn’t need to explain the meaning of this rivalry to his current players. Nimari Burnett, who is 0-4 against Michigan State since coming to Ann Arbor two seasons ago, told us back in October how much it matters to beat the teams that have given Michigan problems in recent years.
“Obviously, you got teams that we haven’t beat in those last few years,” Burnett said. “I won’t name those teams, but at the same time, it’s also something we talk about in the locker room, how we got to get those guys. But we also got to get everybody in front of us on the schedule, and that’s how you know we’ll reach our goals because everyone is committed to that.”
At 19-1 and ranked as one of, if not the best, team in the sport by advanced analytics websites, Michigan is well on track to achieve the goals Burnett referred to. Three months later, he echoed that sentiment about the importance of the upcoming rivalry game after the Nebraska win.
“Oh man, it’s everything, I love it,” Burnett said ahead of the game.
For some, like Morez Johnson Jr. and Trey McKenney, this will be their first time playing against the Spartans. McKenney, who grew up in Flint and was a Michigan fan, dreamed about playing in games like this one.
“It’s going to be a really big game, I’m excited to play in East Lansing,” McKenney said. “It’ll definitely be a good game, it will be a game like this (one against Nebraska), I’m just excited to go out there and compete.”
Michigan isn’t blowing out teams as it did earlier in the year, but these close wins are helping Michigan develop calluses to prepare it for tight games in March, and hopefully in April. Weeks like this with a quick turnaround and playing against two really good teams in a four-day span simulate the NCAA Tournament in terms of wear and tear on legs and preparation.
May’s squads have proven they are good in a tournament setting, after the Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament and made it to the Sweet Sixteen last season, and then won the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas back in November. But this season’s goals are larger than those for these goldfish.
“I do believe in winning DNA,” May said. “I believe you make your own luck and you try to do the best you can to put yourself in a position to win every night.”
“February and March, and we want to play until April, that’s what it’s all about,” Burnett said. “We know that championships are won in March and April, and you need to go through those growing pains … we plan to continue to execute offensively and defensively to get those wins in tight, tight situations.”
