Michigan head coach Dusty May surprised by Spartans in-game 'tradition'

Once again, the topic of the altercation between the Wolverines and Spartans came up this week, and this time it was head coach Dusty May explaining his side. Appearing on the Pardon My Take podcast this morning, May shared his thoughts on the altercation and the "tradition" that led to it.

Although he's been coaching at the collegiate level for quite sometime, May - like the vast majority of other people connected to college basketball - isn't an expert on all things Michigan State. And while some of the folks within Spartan nation seem to think Michigan's action of simply standing at halfcourt was an attempt to disrupt Michigan State's senior tradition, May pushed back on that suggestion.

Michigan Basketball — Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I don't watch a lot of Michigan State senior night," May said. "So I didn't know the exact protocol and procedures. And even now, I'm a little bit surprised that they do it during the game. Typically, you take your seniors out, they get an ovation, they kiss the court, and the move on... or the hug their teammates, whatever the case. And the officials told me this was going to happen."

Knowing that Michigan State is going to carry out a tradition is one thing. But knowing how your team is supposed to respond is an entirely different thing. The reality is that with LJ Cason and Phat Phat Brooks standing at midcourt, at least one Spartan was able to carry out the tradition without incident. So when junior guard Tre Holloman decided to initiate a physical altercation, the Wolverines were a little surprised.

"So I think it was [Frankie] Fidler who kissed the court, went out, took the applause," May said. "And then... I forget the next player who came out, and our players were standing in the exact same spot. It looked like they were actually having a conversation, and by the way we played, they probably weren't talking about the next assignment. But they're standing at halfcourt chatting, and then just out of the blue, something angered Holloman and he obviously came in with the aggressive maneuver."

The shove from Holloman led to a response by Michigan, nearly leading to an all out brawl on the court with roughly 30 seconds left in the game. The fan reaction went exactly how you would expect. Michigan State fans accused the Wolverines of being disrespectful toward a Spartan tradition, while Michigan fans questioned why the Spartans are allowed to clear an entire court for a celebration during the game.

But for May, he says he now understands how to proceed with that 'tradition' moving forward, while offering another little jab in the direction of East Lansing.

"But, yeah, now we know. I guess we'll put our guys... hopefully we're not in this situation again, but next time we'll clear the logo that covers about a third of the court and keep it rolling."

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