5 takeaways: Michigan basketball destroys rival MSU, wins Big Ten

Michigan basketball won the Big Ten Championship outright with a win over its arch-rival. Here are our five takeaways from the first of two.

It took all season to get to this point, but finally, the big basketball rivalry is back on for Michigan basketball.

The Wolverines were set to play rival Michigan State back in February, but due to an athletic department-wide COVID-19 pause, the home game against the Spartans was postponed to now, with the maize and blue and green and white facing off for the first of two in a row to end the Big Ten regular season. A win doesn’t just equal moral superiority and the upper hand — if Michigan beats rival MSU, in either of the upcoming contests, it will give the Wolverines the Big Ten regular season crown.

So how did it unfold? What happened?

Fouls. Lots and lots of fouls. But Michigan led wire-to-wire, got the lead to double-digits at the end of the first half and grew the lead in the second to win, 69-50. As a result of the win, the Wolverines are outright Big Ten champions.

Here are our five takeaways.