Izzo: B1G title within Michigan State basketball reach ‘if we take care of our business’

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EAST LANSING — It is a championship chase few could have foreseen before the season, let alone in January. Or even three weeks ago.

Fate and fortune does not ascribe to preseason predictions, though. And in the span of a little more than 24 hours, less than a week after their first of two increasingly important meetings, both Michigan State basketball and rival Michigan firmly established themselves as the top combatants for the Big Ten title as the final regular-season games dwindle toward their eventual March 9 rematch.

The No. 8 Spartans have the upper hand on the 13th-ranked Wolverines by virtue of last Friday’s win in Ann Arbor. The only problem?

Both have to play two more games before they meet again. And after Tre Holloman drained a 60-foot 3-pointer to beat Maryland on Wednesday night, Nimari Burnett answered with a buzzer-beating 3 of his own Thursday to stave off Rutgers — a harbinger that neither plans to fade as they enter the home stretch tied atop the standings.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo celebrates after a made shot at the buzzer during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.

DOWN TO THE WIRE: Handicapping Michigan State, Michigan in final stretch for Big Ten men’s basketball title

“Like I told my guys early, once we beat Maryland, we don’t have to hope for anybody to win, we don’t have to hope for anybody to lose,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said after practice Friday. “Don’t worry about what anybody else does. Go earn everything yourself. The ball’s in our court — they know that — if we take care of our business. That’s what I told them. So it’s one game at a time.”

The Spartans (23-5, 14-3 Big Ten), who have won four straight and five of their last six games, face a fourth straight ranked opponent Sunday (1:30 p.m., CBS) when they host No. 11 Wisconsin (22-6, 12-5).

It didn’t take long after Wednesday’s 58-55 thriller over the Terrapins for Izzo to…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/izzo-b1g-title-within-michigan-110603879.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-03-01 11:06:00

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