The interstate rivalry picks up where it left off last season when Michigan (10-3, 1-1) and Michigan State (11-3, 3-0) square-off on Sunday at the Breslin Center. Michigan State has won six straight games and is ranked No. 14, while No. 12 Michigan has won back-to-back games. Michigan has lost 16 of its last 19 at the Breslin Center but did post an 82-72 victory there during the 2017-18 season.
Michigan vs. Michigan State
When: Sunday, January 5
Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
The big key for Michigan State in this game is Cassius Winston. He was instrumental in the Spartans sweeping the two regular-season games against the Wolverines and the Big Ten tournament title game last season. He averaged 21.3 points and 8.7 assists. He’s putting up those same kinds of numbers this season, with team-highs of 17.8 points and 6.1 assists per game. Winston had 21 points and six assists Thursday night when Michigan State cruised to a 76-56 victory over Illinois. Xavier Tillman has also been a standout player to begin the season. Against Illinois, he had 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four blocked shots. The 6-foot-7 junior has 10 blocks in his last three games and is shooting 56.7 percent on the season.
Michigan (10-2, 1-1) had two easy wins against overmatched opponents in Presbyterian and UMass Lowell, combining to outscore them 172-104. Before that, the Wolverines faced four of five ranked opponents, splitting the games. The Wolverines cruised to an 86-60 victory over UMass Lowell on Sunday when Jon Teske scored a career-high 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting.
The 7-foot-1 Teske is averaging a team-high 14.4 points, while shooting 57.7 percent. He is one of four players scoring in double figures for Michigan, including Isaiah Livers (13.4), Eli Brooks (11.5) and Zavier Simpson (11.2).
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