Photo Credit: Michigan State Men’s Basketball Instagram

March Madness has begun. We’ve seen buzzer beaters. And more buzzer beaters. One thing that isn’t madness is Michigan State Men’s Basketball winning the Big Ten regular season title. It’s somewhat of a regular event. With its come-from-behind victory over Iowa, 91-84, Michigan State has now won 11 Big Ten regular season titles under Head Coach Tom Izzo. 

This year’s squad is special and can do great things. They are winning by executing a total team effort, running their opponents into the ground, playing excellent defense and taking each game as it comes. 

“For me, am I happy we won the Big Ten? I’m ecstatic,” said Izzo postgame. “… but it’s Michigan week, and we start preparing for them right away.” 

The Spartans host the Wolverines on Sunday, March 9, to close out the regular season. Izzo and his team can further drop Michigan into a tailspin by handing them their third consecutive loss. 

Michigan’s last game was a loss to #13 Maryland, at home, 71-65, a game where the Wolverines got down early and could not claw their way back. After getting down by double digits, Michigan showed a lot of grit to get within two points, but Maryland closed it out in the end. If the Wolverines want to make noise in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments, they have to get their turnover problem under control. Against Maryland, the team had 16 turnovers to Maryland’s eight. Michigan leads the Big Ten this season with 14.4 turnovers per game. 

Michigan Women’s Basketball, on the other hand, won its first game in the Big Ten Tournament, 66-58, over Washington. Michigan next plays Maryland in a 5-seed versus 4-seed matchup. The Wolverines lost to the No. 17 Terps, 85-77, on Feb. 17, at College Park, but the B1G Tournament offers a neutral arena. Michigan looked good against Washington, leading much of the game and building a lead in the third quarter that Washington could not overcome. If the Wolverines stay committed to scoring inside while hitting timely threes, like they did against Washington, they can upset Maryland. Like the men’s team, they need to cut down on the turnovers, 14 against Washington and an average of 15.4 during the season. 

On the other side of the Big Ten Tournament bracket, 6-seed Michigan State Women’s Basketball was upset by 11-seed Iowa, 74-61. Iowa’s ball movement was superb, leading to easy baskets, and keeping Michigan State on its heels for much of the game. Iowa had 20 assists and shot 47.3 percent from the field. The Spartans are not done for the season. They were the 24th ranked team in the country before the loss to Iowa and are a lock for the NCAA Tournament. 

The past few days have provided a lot of entertaining college basketball for fans of Michigan-based teams. Perhaps, with four very good teams in both men’s and women’s college basketball, the best is yet to come.