Friday night’s Michigan vs. Michigan State basketball game yielded some horrendous missed calls and just overall poor officiating from start to finish, and both Tom Izzo and Dusty May were critical of it.
Shortly after Friday’s loss, Izzo opened his presser with a statement about how he was disappointed with the officiating. That drew some criticism from rival fans, but he was talking about both sides. The game was poorly officiated, and everyone who tuned in could see that.
On Monday, May joined Izzo in criticizing some officiating, but not for the same reasons. He said that “several plays” were “very dangerous” on Michigan State’s side of things.
The second-year Michigan head coach was critical of the Spartans.
Dusty May was asked about Yaxel Lendeborg getting tripped and said there were “several plays that are very dangerous” in the MSU game.
— Austin Meek (@byAustinMeek) February 2, 2026
“The film’s there. 40 minutes of it,” May said. “It’s not hard to find.”
”There’s film there. Forty minutes of it. It’s not hard to find.”
May didn’t hold back when asked about an apparent trip by Jeremy Fears against Yaxel Lendeborg that he saw as intentional, stating that there were several plays that resembled that in terms of being dangerous. He’s obviously looking out for his players, but this statement could go either way.
Yes, Fears did a couple of things that probably went unnoticed by the refs, but he was not the only guilty party during Friday’s game. Michigan was at fault, too.
The Michigan vs. Michigan State rematch is going to be heated
If you thought the first game between Michigan and Michigan State was intense, wait until the two teams meet again to end the regular season in Ann Arbor.
Michigan got the better of the Spartans and out-toughed and out-played the Spartans for about 75 percent of the first matchup in East Lansing, but this Michigan State team is motivated after getting punked on its own floor. You can bet the intensity level will be turned up about 10 notches when the two teams meet in Ann Arbor with a potential Big Ten title on the line.
The Spartans have to engineer this upcoming stretch to perfection, however. They’ll be in Minnesota on Tuesday before heading back home to host a really good Illinois squad.
I would bet that Izzo is making sure his team doesn’t forget how that loss to Michigan on its own floor felt. That second meeting in Ann Arbor, especially after May called out the Spartans’ style of play, is going to be as heated as they come.