Michigan Basketball: 3 predictions for Wolverines against Michigan State

Michigan basketball hosts Michigan State Sunday with first place in the Big Ten on the line. Here are three predictions for the Wolverines and Spartans.

When it comes to Michigan basketball, there is no team the Wolverines and their fans want to beat more than Michigan State.

The rivalry between the two schools has continued to grow in recent years as Michigan basketball has gotten better and better and asserted itself more. Heading into the key matchup Sunday at the Crisler Center, Michigan has won three in a row over the Spartans, including wins in East Lansing and in the Big Ten semifinals last season.

It’s been a couple years since Michigan State has come to Ann Arbor and in that last trip to play in front of the Maize Rage, the Spartans fell flat on their face in an 86-57 loss. Yet, these are different teams and the battle between the seventh-ranked Wolverines and the 10th-ranked Spartans should be hard-fought.

Of course, the Spartans injury issues have been well documented as both Joshua Langford and Nick Ward are out indefinitely and won’t play Sunday. After losing Langford, Michigan State lost three straight, but since then, the Spartans have won four in a row to remain tied with Michigan at 13-3.

While this game is critical for both teams in the Big Ten race, Michigan needs it more. The Spartans still host UM to close out the season and the Wolverines also have a trip to Maryland looming. UM can’t afford more than a loss if it wants to win the regular season title, so unless it can win back-to-back road games at Maryland and Michigan State, it better beat the Spartans.

So here is a breakdown of the Wolverines and Spartans with three predictions littered in.