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Michigan State basketball: Michigan game is must-win for Spartans

The Spartans have to beat this Michigan team on Saturday.

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Michigan State basketball

There’s no other option but to beat Michigan on Saturday and Michigan State basketball needs to take care of business.

Must win. Can’t lose. Gotta have it. Call it what you want. Saturday’s game against Michigan is a game Michigan State basketball needs to win. No, their season won’t be over if they lose. Yes, they can still win the Big Ten, make a Final Four, and have a memorable season with a loss. But at the moment, for this fan base, Saturday is a game MSU cannot lose.

For this team, this is obviously a game MSU has to have. The Big Ten is shaping up to be its usual three-month trench war, with the champion having at least four, probably five, and maybe even six losses. With some of the best home court advantages in the country, holding serve at home is a must. It’s even more critical against the middle of the league.

This is not a great Michigan team. They come in at just 9-5, ranked 45 in KenPom, currently on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble. With that being said, they are 3-0 in league play. So, this is a big opportunity for MSU to knock off the first-place team at home to keep their own title chances alive.

For the fans, this has become personal. It’s always personal with Michigan, but Hunter Dickinson’s antics have elevated the stakes. It’s been quite some time since the Michigan basketball program had a villain like Dickinson. Anyone that has been around as long as he has, and is as good of a player as he is will draw criticism from their rival. But Dickinson has fanned the flames with his on court and off court behavior. Between yelling at Tom Izzo in last year’s game, and putting down MSU’s academic standards on a podcast, he has crossed a line with MSU fans. There would be nothing more difficult to swallow than watching him celebrate a victory at Breslin Center. The wounds from Dickinson’s comments are fresh, and this fanbase wants to beat him and Michigan. Badly.

For the Michigan and Michigan State rivalry in general, this is something MSU fans need to feel good about. The 2022 football season was one of the most difficult seasons to stomach for Spartan fans. Their team stumbled to a 5-7 record while Michigan went undefeated and won the Big Ten. The tunnel incident following Michigan’s beatdown of the Spartans added embarrassment to an already disastrous season. Saturday represents the first opportunity to move on from that game and postgame incident.

For as much separation as there appears to be between the two football programs, MSU feels that same gap potential is there with basketball. For the first time, there are serious questions about the direction of Juwan Howard’s program. There is a world where he is not the coach at Michigan next season. Michigan State meanwhile, feels as if they have another vintage Izzo team on deck given the talent on the roster this year combined with the freshman class for next season.

Michigan State fans will settle for any kind of victory. But this has the feeling of a game where winning by a little won’t be enough. MSU fans want demolition. They want to see the Izzone go berserk. They want to see extended minutes from Steven Izzo at the end.

Three months of frustration stemming from football season will be spewing from the stands and keyboards on Saturday. It’s almost an uncomfortable feeling for Spartan fans, knowing how badly they need a victory over their rival. Losing is not an option.

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