Dusty May gives initial impressions of Michigan State rivalry

Dusty May knows what’s next for Michigan on the schedule and that’s rival Michigan State. That might mean just a little bit more on the basketball court than Ohio State, a natural football rival.

It’s just May’s first season in Ann Arbor, but the Wolverines have hit their stride. Now ranked No. 12 in the country, they’ll host the No. 14 Spartans Friday, coming off a win over the Buckeyes and Purdue last week.

While May hasn’t coached against Tom Izzo while wearing the maize and blue yet, he knows Michigan State is a special game.

“I mean, every game I watched … it was obvious, the amount of intensity and passion for the game,” May said. “And it was typically two really good basketball teams going tooth and nail competing, and usually both of them were in championship contention. So it seemed like, as always, as a big nationally televised game either during a week or a Saturday or Sunday … I was usually gonna try to check it out.”

Michigan and Michigan State square off Friday in Ann Arbor at 8:00 p.m. ET and will meet again in East Lansing during the regular season finale on March 9th.

“Our focus has to be on us playing basketball,” May said. “The rivalry is great for everyone else but if we’re consumed with all the extra stuff then we’re not focused on what we need to do as far as getting back in transition defense, knowing personnel tendencies, things like that.

“Obviously, we know the importance of the rivalry but we’re not going into it relying on our fans, relying on anyone else to win the game because it’s a rivalry. We have to put in the work, we have to prepare, and we have to perform at a high level in that environment.”

Friday will be a ranked matchup, the rivalry’s first since Jan 2020. 

Michigan may have a leg up as they will not play until then. Michigan State does have another big-time showdown before heading to Ann Arbor, hosting Purdue. Pressure-filled games are beginning to add up for the Spartans and becoming normal down the stretch.

May will have an opportunity to rest his team and get some extra preparation in. A win would get his team closer to winning a Big Ten regular season title, something the program has only done once since a 2014 title.

Griffin McVeigh contributed to this story