MSU's Izzo Raves About UM's Talent Ahead of Rivalry Rematch
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- The hardest game on Michigan State's regular season schedule appears to be the last one.
No. 8 MSU (25-5 overall, 15-4 Big Ten) has played a lot of really, really good teams. The Spartans have hosted top-ranked Duke, hosted No. 3 Michigan, went on the road for an exhibition against No. 4 UConn, faced No. 9 Nebraska on the road, hosted No. 11 Illinois, seen No. 15 Purdue on the road, and so on. None of those tasks have felt quite as daunting as going on the road and facing the Wolverines (28-2, 18-1) in Ann Arbor.
"They are, I think, the deepest, best-talented team in the country," Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said after practice on Friday evening.
No matter what one's feelings in East Lansing are about the maize and blue, it's hard to deny their dominance this season. Michigan has won 15 Big Ten games this year by at least 10 points and became the first team from the Big Ten to win all its road games since 1975-76 Indiana (y'know, the last college basketball team to go undefeated). That doesn't happen accidentally.
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Something about the Wolverines Izzo seemed to really think strengthens them is their depth. UM has about eight or nine guys who could probably start at plenty of other places. It's enough of a machine that even if one part gets taken out, including Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Yaxel Lendeborg, it's hard to imagine Michigan still not humming at a fairly high level. That can't really be said about MSU.
One thing worth noting is that UM is going the rest of the way without backup point guard L.J. Cason, who recently tore his ACL. He is a good enough player that describing him as a "backup point guard" probably doesn't really properly explain his value. The loss of Cason probably gives more responsibility to starter Elliot Cadeau, just as the loss of Divine Ugochukwu has put even more weight on the shoulders of Jeremy Fears Jr. for MSU. Sunday's game will be the Wolverines' second game without Cason.
"I thought he was coming on," Izzo said about Cason. "That's a big loss, because he was getting to be the best version of himself."
The main concern is Michigan's frontcourt, though. Lendeborg is as talented as anyone, but former Illinois transfer Morez Johnson Jr. and former UCLA transfer Aday Mara (standing at 7-foot-3) cause serious issues for MSU's offense. All of MSU's bigs only combined for 14 points in the first meeting in East Lansing.
That means some of the guards are going to have to step up and knock down some more shots. Fears tried to do it all by himself, scoring a career-high 31 points, but one man isn't enough to beat a team this good.
Players like Jordan Scott or Kur Teng or maybe Trey Fort --- wings who can knock down a three --- are going to be an X-factor for Michigan State in this one. MSU only went 4-for-23 (17.4%) from three against Michigan last time; that won't be good enough here.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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