Wolverine Digest

Predicting final score of Michigan basketball vs. Michigan State in regular season finale

Trent Knoop|
Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images

Michigan men's basketball will wrap up the regular season on Sunday afternoon when it travels to rival Michigan State for the second meeting of the year with the Spartans. The last time the two teams met was five games ago when MSU beat the Wolverines at Crisler Center, 75-62.

But Michigan has more to worry about than what transpired the last time the two teams met. Dusty May's squad has dropped three of their last five games and Michigan has constant issues with turning the ball over, shooting 3s, and securing rebounds. Against both Illinois and Maryland, Michigan couldn't contain the bigs from crashing and getting boards. Second chance points were a big killer for the Wolverines in losing both of those games.

As bad as it's been allowing teams to get offensive rebounds, turnovers might even be worse. It appears Michigan is always looking to execute a highlight pass instead of making the easy read. The Wolverines are dead last in the Big Ten averaging 14.4 turnovers per game.

But the one thing that could be in Michigan's favor heading into The Breslin is the fact Michigan State has wrapped up the Big Ten regular season title after beating Iowa and the Wolverines falling to Maryland. MSU still wants to beat Michigan of course, but the Wolverines could play a little more free without that pressure. The Wolverines must get more production from their guards like Tre Donaldson and Nimari Burnett to get the offense rolling.

Michigan State will continue playing elite defense, so it will be up to Michigan to create some offense. As much as I believe the Wolverines could beat the Spartans on Sunday, it's hard to pick against Tom Izzo in his house.

Final score: Michigan State 71, Michigan 62

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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