Fresh off a 75–72 home victory in Ann Arbor over No. 5 Nebraska earlier this week, the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines traveled to East Lansing to take on archrival No. 7 Michigan State.
Wolverines head coach Dusty May entered the Breslin Center looking extremely relaxed during pregame warmups, despite hearing plenty of jeers and trash talk from the Spartans students already in attendance.
Not exactly a warm welcome for Dusty May…
— Jacob Cotsonika (@jacobcotsonika) January 30, 2026
“F*** you, Dusty” chants started shortly after I stopped recording. pic.twitter.com/x8NWkIUtEi
May is no stranger to embracing a road environment, and made the most of his opportunity to egg on the Michigan State student section. As Michigan State students chanted “F--- you Dusty!” May sat down on the bench right in front of them and didn’t say a word, making it clear that he wasn’t going to let their trash talk get to him.
Dusty May… I wasn’t familiar with your aura. GO BLUE pic.twitter.com/rom0H29yAy
— Tep 〽️ (@Tepkowski) January 31, 2026
May’s actions during before tip sent a clear message to his team to not be intimidated by the road crowd in one of the biggest games of the year to-date.
It’s this kind of attitude, and May’s strong coaching acumen, that have the Wolverines as one of the sport’s top contenders to make the Final Four.
More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated
- Daily Dunk: Best College Basketball Bets Today (Predictions for Texas Tech-UCF, UConn-Creighton, and More)
- NCAA Makes Stance Clear on NBA Player Amari Bailey's Quest for College Eligibility
- Amari Bailey, Ex-Charlotte Hornet, Seeking Return to College
- TCU-Kansas Referee Apologizes to Confused Teams and Fans for 10-Minute Replay Review
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Michigan's Dusty May Embraces Hostile Pregame Atmosphere on Road vs. Michigan State.
