The Michigan–Michigan State basketball rivalry is a college basketball rivalry between Michigan Wolverines men's basketball and Michigan State Spartans men's basketball that is part of the larger intrastate rivalry between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University that exists across a broad spectrum of endeavors including their general athletic programs: Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans. On the field, the athletic rivalry includes the Paul Bunyan Trophy and the Michigan–Michigan State ice hockey rivalry, but extends to almost all sports and many other forms of achievement. Both teams are members of the Big Ten Conference.
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| First meeting | January 9, 1909 Michigan Agricultural 24, Michigan 16 |
| Latest meeting | February 17, 2024 Michigan State 73, Michigan 63 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 193 (7 games vacated) |
| All-time series | Michigan leads, 97–90* |
| Largest victory | Michigan State, 114–63 (2000) |
| Longest win streak | Michigan, 12 (1921–27) |
| Current win streak | Michigan State, 2 (2024–present) |
The rivalry has been evidenced both on the court and off the court. Among the off the court elements of the rivalry, recruiting of basketball talent has resulted in battles, the most notable of which turned into the University of Michigan basketball scandal, the investigation of which began when both schools sought the services of Mateen Cleaves. Michigan leads the all-time series; however, Michigan State leads the series since joining the Big Ten in 1950.
Series history
"Do I respect John Beilein? Tremendously. Do I respect Michigan? Tremendously. Do I like them? Not one bit. I don't like anything about Michigan and they don't like anything about us, and that's the way it should be."
Michigan currently leads the series, which began on January 9, 1909. However, Michigan State currently leads the series since joining the Big Ten in 1950. As a result of the Big Ten moving to 11 teams with the addition of Penn State, teams were not guaranteed two games against each other. Accordingly, the schools chose to play one game that did not count as a conference game in 1997.[2][3] When the Big Ten went to a 20-game conference schedule in 2018–19, the conference announced that the teams would always play each other twice in each season.[4]
A 1996 rollover accident during Michigan's recruitment of Mateen Cleaves led to a long investigation surrounding the University of Michigan basketball scandal.[5][6][7] Cleaves eventually matriculated at Michigan State.
Despite the intense rivalry for basketball recruits and resources and the intensity of the rivalry in other sports, the rivalry had not been intense (as measured by rankings) on the basketball court until the 2010s when the teams met 7 times in a row as ranked opponents.
On February 12, 2013, for the first time in the series' 170-game history, dating back to 1909, the teams met while both were ranked in the Top 10.[2] The Spartans (20–4, 9–2 Big Ten) were ranked No. 8 in both the AP Top 25 Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll, while the Wolverines (21–3, 8–3 Big Ten) came in ranked No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the coaches poll.[8] Michigan State won the game at the Breslin Center, 75–52. The following month, both teams were once again ranked in the Top 10, this time Michigan was on the winning end of a game played at the Crisler Center, by a score of 58–57.[9]
Indiana Mr. Basketball for 2012, Gary Harris, and 2013 Indiana Mr. Basketball Zak Irvin were teammates at Hamilton Southeastern High School, but Irvin signed with Michigan after Harris had joined Michigan State.[10] The two were best friends from third grade through high school and even wagered on the January 17, 2012, game in high school after the two had committed to different basketball programs, with Harris having to wear Maize and Blue for a day as a result.[11]
At the time of the first 2013–14 Big Ten season matchup of the teams, Sporting News's Bill Bender felt the rivalry was the best in the Big Ten largely due to the teams' excellence in the prior three seasons.[12] With Michigan State riding an 11-game winning streak, including seven in conference, and Michigan riding an eight-game winning streak, including six in conference, the January 25 game marked the first time in Big Ten history that two teams have met when both teams were 6–0 or better in conference play.[13] (#21/#25T)[14] Michigan defeated the (#3/#3)[14] Spartans 80–75.[15] It was the first time Michigan ever defeated three consecutive AP Poll top ten opponents and marked the first time since the 1986–87 Iowa Hawkeyes that any team has won three consecutive games against top 10 opponents.[16] It also gave the team consecutive road wins against top five opponents after a 36-game losing streak against them.[15][16] Michigan's 7–0 Big Ten start was their best since the 1976–77 team won its first eight games.[16]
Both teams advanced to the championship game of the 2014 Big Ten Conference tournament, marking the first time they have faced each other in any postseason tournament,[17] and the first time they played three games against each other in one season.[18] Michigan State won by a score of 69–55 securing the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[19][20] For the first rivalry contest of the 2014–15 Big Ten season, Michigan alum Nik Stauskas and Michigan State alum Draymond Green, the 2014 and 2012 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Players of the Year, respectively, had a highly publicized Twitter war of words and bet on the game.[21]
On February 12, 2013, freshman Mitch McGary made his first career start in an NCAA game for the Wolverines against the Spartans,[22] which featured Adreian Payne in the starting lineup.[23] After Payne (15th) and McGary (21st) were both selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft,[24] McGary made his first NBA start on March 13, 2015, for the 2014–15 Oklahoma City Thunder,[25] with Payne in the starting lineup for the 2014–15 Minnesota Timberwolves as the opposing power forward.[26]
The incoming class for the 2017–18 Big Ten season included high school teammates Jordan Poole and Jaren Jackson Jr. who joined Michigan and Michigan State respectively after teaming up to win the 2017 Dicks National High School Championship.[27]
The 2018 Mr. Basketball of Michigan finalist lineup was composed entirely of Big Ten conference recruits, including two players for Michigan and two for Michigan State.[28] Michigan State's Foster Loyer (3,691 points) won, while Michigan's Brandon Johns (2,792) and David DeJulius (2,542) finished second and third, respectively.[29] Marcus Bingham, an MSU recruit, was the fourth player set to attend one of the rivals.
In 2019, MSU defeated the Wolverines three times, going a perfect 3–0. The second game between the two teams marked the final regular season game and decided who would share the conference championship with Purdue.[30] Michigan State prevailed over Michigan to sweep the regular season series.[31] In the final meeting between the team, this time in the Big Ten tournament championship, Michigan State defeated Michigan for the third time on the season.[32] In each of the schools three meetings in 2019, each school was ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll.
On January 30, 2024, Michigan State defeated the Wolverines, marking coach Tom Izzo's 700th career win as head coach for the Spartans.
Another element of the rivalry is that Michigan (1964, 1992*, 1993* and 2018) and Michigan State (1999 and 2001) are the only two schools to have had both their hockey team and basketball team qualify for the final four of the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship and NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in the same season.[33]
Accomplishments by the two rivals
The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.
| Team | Michigan | Michigan State |
|---|---|---|
| National titles[34][35] | 1 | 2 |
| Final Four appearances[36][37] | 8* | 10 |
| NCAA Tournament appearances[36][37] | 31* | 34 |
| NCAA Tournament record[36][37] | 66–30* | 69–33 |
| Big Ten tournament titles[38] | 2* | 6 |
| Big Ten regular season titles[39] | 15 | 16 |
| Consensus First Team All-Americans[40] | 10 | 5 |
| Naismith Players of the Year[41] | 1 | 0 |
| Big Ten Players of the Year[42] | 5 | 9 |
| All-time program record[36][37] | 1,658–1,056* | 1,754–1,114 |
| All-time winning percentage[36][37] | .611* | .612 |
- Due to violations from the University of Michigan basketball scandal, Michigan was forced to vacate 113 victories, including seven against Michigan State, as well as four NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Four appearances, one NIT Championship and one Big Ten tournament title.[43] See Wikipedia:WikiProject College football/Vacated victories for further details for how vacated games are recorded.[44]
- Through July 29, 2020[45][46]
Game results
Games with both teams ranked
(Rankings are from AP Poll)[2]
| Date | Michigan rank | Michigan State rank | Winner | Score |
| February 20. 1986 | 7 | 19 | Michigan State | 74–59 |
| March 1, 1990 | 8 | 14 | Michigan State | 78–70 |
| January 29, 1992 | 15 | 19 | Michigan | 89–79 |
| February 15, 1992 | 17 | 20 | Michigan State | 70–59 |
| February 2, 1993 | 7 | 25 | Michigan | 73–69 |
| February 17, 1998 | 22 | 14 | Michigan State | 80–75 |
| January 17, 2012 | 20 | 9 | Michigan | 60–59 |
| February 5, 2012 | 23 | 9 | Michigan State | 64–54 |
| February 12, 2013 | 4 | 8 | Michigan State | 75–52 |
| March 3, 2013 | 4 | 9 | Michigan | 58–57 |
| January 25, 2014 | 21 | 3 | Michigan | 80–75 |
| February 23, 2014 | 20 | 13 | Michigan | 79–70 |
| March 16, 2014 | 8 | 22 | Michigan State | 69–55 |
| March 3, 2018 | 15 | 2 | Michigan | 75–64 |
| February 24, 2019 | 7 | 10 | Michigan State | 77–70 |
| March 9, 2019 | 7 | 9 | Michigan State | 75–63 |
| March 17, 2019 | 10 | 6 | Michigan State | 65–60 |
| January 5, 2020 | 12 | 14 | Michigan State | 87–69 |
Game Results
| Michigan victories | Michigan State victories | Tie games | Vacated wins |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | February 8, 1975 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 96–84 | ||||
| 100 | January 17, 1976 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 16 Michigan | 66–63 | ||||
| 101 | February 14, 1976 | East Lansing, MI | No. 16 Michigan | 81–64 | ||||
| 102 | January 15, 1977 | East Lansing, MI | No. 6 Michigan | 83–70 | ||||
| 103 | February 26, 1977 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 3 Michigan | 69–65OT | ||||
| 104 | February 2, 1978 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan | 65–63 | ||||
| 105 | February 11, 1978 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 10 Michigan State | 73–62 | ||||
| 106 | January 25, 1979 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 49–48 | ||||
| 107 | February 17, 1979 | East Lansing, MI | No. 8 Michigan State | 80–57 | ||||
| 108 | January 24, 1980 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan State | 59–58OT | ||||
| 109 | February 16, 1980 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 82–74 | ||||
| 110 | February 5, 1981 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 14 Michigan | 79–77OT | ||||
| 111 | February 14, 1981 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 70–66 | ||||
| 112 | January 21, 1982 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan State | 64–62 | ||||
| 113 | February 11, 1982 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 66–55 | ||||
| 114 | February 5, 1983 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan State | 70–65 | ||||
| 115 | February 12, 1983 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan | 74–67 | ||||
| 116 | February 2, 1984 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 72–67 | ||||
| 117 | February 11, 1984 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 71–61 | ||||
| 118 | January 24, 1985 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 18 Michigan | 86–75 | ||||
| 119 | February 23, 1985 | East Lansing, MI | No. 3 Michigan | 75–73 | ||||
| 120 | January 25, 1986 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 91–79 | ||||
| 121 | February 20, 1986 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 19 Michigan State | 74–59 | ||||
| 122 | January 15, 1987 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 74–70 | ||||
| 123 | February 15, 1987 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 90–81 | ||||
| 124 | January 14, 1988 | East Lansing, MI | No. 10 Michigan | 90–72 | ||||
| 125 | February 22, 1988 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 10 Michigan | 77–67 | ||||
| 126 | February 4, 1989 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 11 Michigan | 82–66 | ||||
| 127 | February 27, 1989 | East Lansing, MI | No. 13 Michigan | 79–52 | ||||
| 128 | January 27, 1990 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 7 Michigan | 65–63 | ||||
| 129 | March 1, 1990 | East Lansing, MI | No. 14 Michigan State | 78–70 | ||||
| 130 | January 3, 1991 | East Lansing, MI | No. 25 Michigan State | 85–70 | ||||
| 131 | March 9, 1991 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan State | 66–59 | ||||
| 132 | January 29, 1992 | East Lansing, MI | No. 15 Michigan | 89–79OT | ||||
| 133 | February 15, 1992 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 12 Michigan State | 70–59 | ||||
| 134 | February 2, 1993 | East Lansing, MI | No. 7 Michigan† | 73–69 | ||||
| 135 | March 7, 1993 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 4 Michigan† | 87–81OT | ||||
| 136 | January 5, 1994 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 13 Michigan | 75–64 | ||||
| 137 | February 5, 1994 | East Lansing, MI | No. 13 Michigan | 59–51 | ||||
| 138 | January 22, 1995 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 12 Michigan State | 73–71 | ||||
| 139 | February 21, 1995 | East Lansing, MI | No. 9 Michigan State | 67–64 | ||||
| 140 | January 13, 1996 | East Lansing, MI | No. 23 Michigan† | 76–54 | ||||
| 141 | February 27, 1996 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan† | 75–46 | ||||
| 142 | January 25, 1997 | East Lansing, MI | No. 13 Michigan† | 74–61 | ||||
| 143 | February 1, 1997 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 16 Michigan† | 85–65 | ||||
| 144 | January 10, 1998 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 17 Michigan† | 79–69 | ||||
| 145 | February 17, 1998 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 80–75 | ||||
| 146 | January 9, 1999 | East Lansing, MI | No. 12 Michigan State | 81–67 | ||||
| 147 | February 18, 1999 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 4 Michigan State | 73–58 | ||||
| 148 | February 1, 2000 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 8 Michigan State | 82–62 | ||||
| 149 | March 4, 2000 | East Lansing, MI | No. 7 Michigan State | 114–63 | ||||
| 150 | January 30, 2001 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 5 Michigan State | 91–64 | ||||
| 151 | March 3, 2001 | East Lansing, MI | No. 3 Michigan State | 78–57 | ||||
| 152 | January 30, 2002 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 71–44 | ||||
| 153 | January 26, 2003 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 60–58 | ||||
| 154 | January 17, 2004 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 71–54 | ||||
| 155 | February 24, 2004 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan State | 72–69 | ||||
| 156 | January 27, 2005 | East Lansing, MI | No. 15 Michigan State | 64–53 | ||||
| 157 | February 12, 2005 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 13 Michigan State | 64–49 | ||||
| 158 | January 25, 2006 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 72–67 | ||||
| 159 | February 18, 2006 | East Lansing, MI | No. 16 Michigan State | 90–71 | ||||
| 160 | February 13, 2007 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 59–44 | ||||
| 161 | February 27, 2007 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 67–56 | ||||
| 162 | January 27, 2008 | East Lansing, MI | No. 10 Michigan State | 77–62 | ||||
| 163 | February 10, 2009 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 9 Michigan State | 54–42 | ||||
| 164 | January 26, 2010 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 5 Michigan State | 57–56 | ||||
| 165 | March 7, 2010 | East Lansing, MI | No. 11 Michigan State | 64–48 | ||||
| 166 | January 27, 2011 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan | 61–57 | ||||
| 167 | March 5, 2011 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 70–63 | ||||
| 168 | January 17, 2012 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 20 Michigan | 60–59 | ||||
| 169 | February 5, 2012 | East Lansing, MI | No. 9 Michigan State | 64–54 | ||||
| 170 | February 12, 2013 | East Lansing, MI | No. 8 Michigan State | 75–52 | ||||
| 171 | March 3, 2013 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 4 Michigan | 58–57 | ||||
| 172 | January 25, 2014 | East Lansing, MI | No. 21 Michigan | 80–75 | ||||
| 173 | February 23, 2014 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 20 Michigan | 79–70 | ||||
| 174 | March 16, 2014 | Indianapolis, IN | No. 22 Michigan State | 69–55 | ||||
| 175 | February 1, 2015 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 76–66OT | ||||
| 176 | February 17, 2015 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan State | 80–67 | ||||
| 177 | February 6, 2016 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 10 Michigan State | 89–73 | ||||
| 178 | January 29, 2017 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 70–62 | ||||
| 179 | February 7, 2017 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 86–57 | ||||
| 180 | January 13, 2018 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan | 82–72 | ||||
| 181 | March 3, 2018 | New York, NY | No. 15 Michigan | 75–64 | ||||
| 182 | February 24, 2019 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 7 Michigan State | 77–70 | ||||
| 183 | March 9, 2019 | East Lansing, MI | No. 10 Michigan State | 75–63 | ||||
| 184 | March 17, 2019 | Chicago, IL | No. 6 Michigan State | 65–60 | ||||
| 185 | January 5, 2020 | East Lansing, MI | No. 14 Michigan State | 87–69 | ||||
| 186 | February 8, 2020 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 77–68 | ||||
| 187 | March 4, 2021 | Ann Arbor, MI | No. 2 Michigan | 69–50 | ||||
| 188 | March 7, 2021 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 70–64 | ||||
| 189 | January 29, 2022 | East Lansing, MI | No. 10 Michigan State | 83–67 | ||||
| 190 | March 1, 2022 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 87–70 | ||||
| 191 | January 7, 2023 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 59–53 | ||||
| 192 | February 18, 2023 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan | 84–72 | ||||
| 193 | January 30, 2024 | East Lansing, MI | Michigan State | 81–62 | ||||
| 194 | February 17, 2024 | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan State | 73–63 | ||||
| Series: Michigan leads 97–90 | ||||||||
| † Vacated by Michigan. | ||||||||