Michigan State Basketball: Rivalry time with hated Wolverines
For Michigan State basketball, the battles with Michigan are as important as any tournament game.
For at least three days a year I, like most Spartan fans, wake up with a little extra pep in my step and a small knot in my stomach. These days are known in my household as Michigan Days. Days that we do not use, wear, or even think about the Maize and Blue colors. I can’t speak for what the rivalry means for UM fans, but I will hope to capture my feelings to speak for the majority of Spartan Nation.
The Michigan State Spartans (14-7, 5-3) and Michigan Wolverines (13-8, 6-3) are getting ready to face off on the hardwood in East Lansing, and the game has more meaning beyond just the rivalry for Tom Izzo’s team this year.
The Spartan Dawgs continue to ride the roller coaster of the season. It has gotten to the point now where it is not a game by game up and down performance, it literally happens minute by minute. This team brings offensive and defense poetry for stretches and then turns immediately around to produce a lackluster effort on defense due to the stagnant play it brings on the other end.
It is no secret what the Spartans need for a win. They’ll have to play solid defense, run the court at both ends, and have the backcourt making shots. If any one of those things are missing, it could prove to be disaster for the Spartans’ chances, they just don’t have the playmakers to have off days.
Michigan has been ravaged by injuries and inconsistent play as well, and although the Wolverines have been playing well under Coach Beilein as of late, they may be without PG Derrick Walton, and coming into Breslin should be a tall order against a Spartans team that needs this victory to put distance between themselves and the bubble. However, this is the same MSU team that lost to Texas Southern at home, so clearly anything is possible.
Today’s basketball game may not have a lot of national appeal, featuring two teams who are playing below what had been hoped this season, but it still doesn’t diminish how great fans of Sparty could feel at the end of the day, or the terrifying alternative. This game will always matter, and tensions will run high for either fan base.
No matter the sport, the Spartans and their fans always want to beat Michigan. Whether it is hockey, swimming, soccer, badminton or quidditch – if MSU is competing against UM, it’s a big deal.
Feb 23, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Keith Appling (11) goes to the basket on Michigan Wolverines forward Glenn Robinson III (1) in the second half at Crisler Arena. Michigan 79-70. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
For myself, the football and basketball games bring the highest stakes. I often joke that if given the chance of MSU never losing to UM in basketball or football, for the rest of my life, I’d take it, even if it meant that MSU would lose all other games.
The satisfaction of beating the Wolverines brings a high that cannot be described. Watching the Michigan fan base squirm, come up with excuses, and make statements that MSU isn’t their rival is a great feeling. On the other hand losing to the Wolverines means not reading ESPN, checking Facebook or twitter, and staying away from SportsCenter for at least a week in order to act like it never happened.
So as the 1 O’clock tip comes today I will be in my usual lucky chair, with my lucky MSU shirt, and performing some crazy ritual. I won’t be able to sit still, and my stomach will be in my throat until the final buzzer sounds. No matter how big the lead I will never think it is enough and no matter how small the deficit I will feel like the game is over.
This is just how it goes in a rivalry game; never relaxed, never satisfied. Family will find always find my craziness over THIS game a bit odd, but it’s RIVALRY day and I am sure that many others around Spartan Nation woke up today with a little more juice running through them.