When it comes to college basketball rivalries, there’s certainly no love lost between Michigan State and Michigan. The two Big Ten opponents are scheduled to play their first of two games this Saturday in Ann Arbor.
Although he might not be a fan of the Wolverines, Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has certainly grown to respect on of his program’s biggest rivals. That remains the case in 2022.
Ahead of the matchup this weekend, Izzo spoke highly of the 7-6 Wolverines. Although Michigan has taken a downturn in recent weeks, the Spartans head coach doesn’t think his team can overlook its rival when the two teams take the court on Saturday.
“Anybody who thinks this isn’t a good Michigan team is crazy,” Izzo said Thursday, per Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News.
Izzo: “Anybody who thinks this isn’t a good Michigan team is crazy.”
— Matt Charboneau (@mattcharboneau) January 6, 2022
Michigan, led by second-year head coach and Fab Five alum Juwan Howard, began the season 6-3. Since then, the Wolverines have taken a small step backward, losing three of their last four. Two of those losses came in conference to Minnesota and Rutgers, with the third coming against a competitive UCF team.
It’s certainly not the start that Michigan hoped to have in conference play, but the Wolverines will have an opportunity to get back on track against Michigan State this weekend. The No. 10 Spartans avoided scares from Northwestern and Nebraska this past week and look susceptible to an upset. Still, at 13-2, Izzo’s program has the upper hand going into the weekend’s rivalry matchup.
Michigan vs. Michigan State is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m. ET this Saturday in Ann Arbor.
The post Tom Izzo Makes His Opinion On Michigan Extremely Clear appeared first on The Spun.