Dusty May on MSU's Dangerous Plays Against Michigan 'The Film's There..40 Minutes of it'

Michigan, 20-1, had a terrific week on the court this past week. The Wolverines took down then-No. 5 Nebraska on Tuesday, before heading to East Lansing to defeat rival Michigan State, which was ranked No. 7 at the time.

Michigan took down Sparty, 83-71, and Yaxel Lendeborg dominated, scoring 26 points for the Maize and Blue. While the Wolverines got the better end of Michigan State — while playing much better than the opposition — the talk afterward was about fouls. Tom Izzo complained about the officiating, but MSU was called for just two more fouls than the Wolverines, 23-21, in the game.

"To say I would be disappointed would be an understatement," said Izzo. "I don't like the way we played, I'll give Michigan credit. They played well—I guess."

"I was disappointed in the officiating, but I was more disappointed in my team," Izzo said in his postgame press conference. "I just did not think we played well enough—I thought there was some bizarre calls and I thought they (Michigan) made the plays."

Dusty May touches on non-call on Jeremy Fears Jr.

Michigan State's head coach Tom Izzo, left, shakes hands with Michigan's head coach Dusty May. — Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tom Izzo can complain about the officiating, but there were a few calls that should've been called on star MSU guard Jeremy Fears Jr. that should've. One in particular, Fears Jr. was seen driving into the lane, and dishing it out to an open guy. When doing so, Fears Jr. appeared to intentionally trip Yaxel Lendeborg.

On Monday, Michigan coach Dusty May was asked about it and he said that play wasn't an illusion — it happened. May said there is plenty of film on Fears Jr.'s play against the Wolverines.

"Appeared? It wasn't an illusion, right?" May said. "I think there are several plays that are very dangerous, and I am incredibly proud of our guys for the responses they had to some of those situations. Incredibly proud for their self-control, their restraint, and their impulse control. I'll leave it at that."

"The film's there. Forty minutes of it. It's not hard to find."

I defended Fears quite a bit yesterday

But the LJ sequence, F1 on Yaxel, missed this clip from last night.. he’s too important to MSU to risk getting ejected for nonsense pic.twitter.com/HE1g487VjI
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) January 31, 2026

On the other end, Tom Izzo was told about May's concern and told reporters for May to call him and he would happily discuss it.

"Tell him to call me and I would be more than happy to address it. There were some things Jeremy did. I addressed him on it. He and their point guard were going at it pretty good. That’s what happens in games like that.”

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