Spartans Involved in Three-Team Race for Conference Title
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The No. 9 Michigan State Spartans (18-3, 9-1) are one of three teams that have the best chance to take home a Big Ten regular season title at the end of the season and the final stretch of games is going to determine who goes home with another conference championship.
The other two teams involved are hot on the Spartans' tail and are no strangers to being the best team in the conference. The No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers (17-5, 9-2) and No. 24 Michigan Wolverines (16-5, 8-2) are the second and third place teams in the current Big Ten standings.
The rest of the conference is not out of the title race but is handedly behind the 8 ball. Discounting the top three teams mentioned, the Big Ten has three teams with four conference losses and 12 others possess five or more losses. It looks to be a three-team race this season.
The Boilermakers are back-to-back defending champions in the regular season while the Wolverines have won it twice since 2014. Michigan State is the furthest removed from winning it, taking home a co-championship back in 2020. They look to retake the Big Ten this year with vengeance.
With 10 regular season games remaining, the Spartans are in an ideal spot with just one conference loss, most recently falling to the USC Trojans on the road. The final stretch of their schedule will not be easy, including two matchups with the hated rival and one against Purdue in a few weeks.
How each of these three teams performs down the stretch is going to determine who takes home the crown and locks up a very high seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines await six ranked opponents while Purdue faces four. Each team will have to earn their right for a championship.
With one of the easiest conference schedules so far this season, Michigan State has done a fabulous job of taking care of the team's they should beat. Despite the upset loss to the Trojans, the Spartans have given themselves a minor cushion as they head into the home stretch.
It all starts on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, as Coach Tom Izzo's group will be heading into a hostile Pauley Pavilion to face the UCLA Bruins (16-6, 7-4). The Bruins are 11-1 at home and will look to play spoiler while the Spartans restart their road to a 17th Big Ten regular season title.
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