Spartans, Wolverines in Two-Team Race for Big Ten Title

After both the Michigan State Spartans and their bitter rival, Michigan, picked up clutch road wins this weekend, there is currently a two-team race at the top of the Big Ten standings. The two rivals are separated by just one game with the Spartans looking up.

Jan 25, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA;Michigan State Spartans guard Gary Harris (14) drives to the basket against Michigan Wolverines guard Caris LeVert (23) during the 2nd half of a game at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Michigan won 80-75. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-Imagn Images | Mike Carter-Imagn Images

The No. 11 Michigan State Spartans (20-5, 11-3) currently sit in second place in the Big Ten standings, and the one team that is ahead of them is none other than their hated rival, the No. 20 Michigan Wolverines (20-5, 12-2).

With just a few games remaining in the regular season, there is a strong chance that the race for a Big Ten title will come down to two teams that utterly despise each other and would chomp at the bit to steal away a conference title from the other.

The No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers (19-7, 11-4) were sitting atop the standings before losing back-to-back games to the Wolverines and No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers. They have not been eliminated from contention for the title but will have a much tougher time getting to that point.

The Spartans have just six games remaining in the regular season, including two against Michigan. They will battle later this week on Friday night in Ann Arbor for the first of two matchups. Both rivalry matchups will be must-win games unless the Wolverines drop a few games in the final stretch.

Michigan has a much easier final few games of the season, playing the No. 25 Maryland Terrapins as the only other ranked opponent besides the Spartans. Michigan State will face three other Top 25 teams not including the pair of games against the Maize and Blue.

The team down the road has lost some brutal games this season, falling to the Minnesota Gophers, who are fifth-worst in the conference. Not to mention a 27-point blowout to the Boilermakers a few weeks back.

Over the years, the Spartans have a leg up in Big Ten history over their rival, holding 16 conference regular season titles while Michigan has just 15. However, the Wolverines were the most recent winners, taking it home in 2022. Michigan State looks to win one for the first time since 2020.

There is a good chance that the final game of the regular season will have the conference title on the line with the two rivals battling it out. It could be a winner-take-all situation at the Breslin Center on March 9. This will be one of the better years of rivalry contests in recent history between the two.

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