Just like the good old days, Michigan and Michigan State basketball might just be back to battling it out for Big Ten titles and conference supremacy in the NCAA Tournament.
Who would have thought that after the 2023-24 seasons each of these programs experienced?
On one side, Michigan State started the year ranked in the top five only to fall short of expectations, barely sneak into the NCAA Tournament, and get bounced in the second round. On the other side, Michigan went 8-24 and fired its head coach, Juwan Howard, after another underwhelming season.
Now both teams are looking like true Big Ten title contenders -- if not the favorites. Michigan State is 13-2 to begin the season with a perfect 4-0 record in conference play. The Wolverines are 12-3 also with a perfect 4-0 Big Ten record. These are the only undefeated teams left in the Big Ten and the gap just grew between them and the next biggest contender on Saturday afternoon.
In fact, Illinois -- who I pegged as the biggest threat to MSU in the Big Ten title race -- lost at home to USC to drop its second conference game of the season. There are now just two one-loss teams in the conference standings (Indiana and Purdue). Indiana could very well lose at Iowa on Saturday evening and Purdue doesn't look unbeatable like in previous seasons.
Michigan is fresh off a huge road win against a ranked (soon to be unranked) UCLA team and Michigan State just beat Washington by 34 points on Izzone Alumni night.
It feels like the in-state rivals are destined to play for a Big Ten title in the final month of the season as they don't meet until Feb. 21 in Ann Arbor and then again on Senior Day in East Lansing on March 9.
Could we see another Big Ten title clinching to end the season between MSU and Michigan? I think so.