Previewing Another Top 10 Showdown as Michigan takes on Michigan State

The 19-1 and 3rd ranked Michigan Wolverines will travel to East Lansing tomorrow night to take on the 19-2 and 7th ranked Michigan State Spartans. Michigan is coming off a thrilling come from behind victory over 5th ranked Nebraska on Tuesday night, and Michigan State is coming off an OT win against Rutgers after they too were down double digits at one point in that game. This game will be a big time game and could ultimately decide who ends up winning the Big Ten regular season Championship. Let's dive more into this matchup below.

Michigan State Spartans

This 2025-2026 version of Michigan State is very much like all their other teams under long time Head Coach Tom Izzo. They play excellent defense, and they rebound the ball as well as anybody in college basketball. They rank 2nd in the Big Ten in opponent scoring average at 63.5 points per game, and also hold opponents to only 38.9% shooting from the floor, which is also 2nd in the Big Ten. They also rank 2nd in 3-point percentage allowed on defense, so they defend all shooters very, very well. They are 1st in the Big Ten at allowing opponents to hit the offensive glass just 7.8 times per game on average. Overall, they are 3rd in rebounding in the Big Ten, 4th in blocks, and 4th in playing defense without getting fouls called at just 15.5 fouls called on them per game.

Like I mentioned previously, this team is elite at both defense and rebounding and because of that it gives them a good chance to win every game despite not having a great offense. their offensive numbers are a little bit more normal, as they rank 9th in the Big Ten in average scoring, 5th in the Big Ten in shooting percentage themselves, 3rd in assists, and 5th in shooting percentage from 3-point range. It's still a good offense by the statistics, by just a little bit less intimidating when looking at their defensive statistics. Michigan will need to play their 'A' game to go into East Lansing and come out with a win tomorrow night.

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan ranks 1st in the Big Ten in scoring average at 90.9 points per game, and they also rank 1st in shooting percentage at 51.5% from the field. They aren't as good at 3-point shooting, ranking 9th in the Big Ten, but they do rank 2nd in free throw makes per game in the Big Ten to make up for it. They also rank 2nd in the Big Ten in assists per game, showing their unselfishness. This Michigan team is an elite offensive unit by the numbers with their biggest weaknesses being 3-point percentage and offensive rebounding, where despite their imposing length, they rank 8th in the Big Ten.

On defense, they rank 7th in the Big Ten at holding opponents to score just 68.8 points per game on average. They also rank 1st in opponent shooting percentage allowed, 6th in opponent 3-point percentage allowed, 17th in offensive rebounds allowed, 1st in rebounding overall, 5th in steals, and 1st in blocks per game on average. This is an elite defensive unit as well, ranking near the tops in the Big Ten in all those major stat categories.

Their biggest weakness on defense is pretty clearly their offensive rebounds allowed, at 17th in the Big Ten. That could be an especially big issue in this particular game because Michigan State is 2nd in the Big Ten at offensive rebounding in the Big Ten themselves. Both teams do struggle with turnovers though, with Michigan State at 14th in the Big Ten, and Michigan ranking 18th. Whoever can win the rebounding battle when Michigan is on defense, and limit their own turnovers will likely win this game.

With the game being at Michigan State, they will also have a large home-court advantage. I think Michigan State is a a bit of a matchup problem for Michigan, as Michigan has struggled to limit offensive rebounds this year and MSU being elite at getting them themselves. I believe that aspect of this game will loom large as I think Michigan will ultimately lose to the Spartans tomorrow night. Either way, it should be a great college basketball game between two top10 teams in the country.

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