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EAST LANSING - For the third time in 11 seasons, Michigan State has a chance to end its regular season with a dreamy kind of day - by beating rival Michigan at home and making the Wolverines watch as the Spartans and their fans celebrate a Big Ten championship.
It happened in 2000 with a 114-63 mauling of U-M, giving MSU a shared title with Ohio State. It happened in 2001, a 78-57 rout that left MSU and Illinois tied at the top.
If the No. 11 Spartans (23-7 overall, 13-4 Big Ten) get past U-M (14-15, 7-10) today at Breslin Center, they'll finish in a three-way tie for the championship, joining Ohio State and Purdue.
It would be the second straight title for MSU, the sixth of Tom Izzo's tenure and the 12th in school history. It would also be MSU's 11th straight home win against U-M and give the Spartans an 18-3 record in their past 21 games in the series.
Yet all those milestones are far from pre-ordained. MSU's home struggles and Michigan's talent would seem to give the Wolverines a real shot to wreck this party.
"This will be as tough a game as we've had, because it's your rivalry game, it's for all the marbles," Izzo said. "Fun to say that. Everything for us. No better way for your rival to ruin a day than to take that away from you. I mean, it's gonna be everything it should be."
When Izzo last addressed the public, he was plotting Thursday night to "have some fun" in preparation for U-M, implying some full-blast practices after Izzo was "flat-out embarrassed" by a 67-65 home win over Penn State.
Izzo also hinted at potential lineup changes after the Spartans nearly blew today's opportunity before it arrived.
Asked about U-M, Izzo pointed to the shooting potential - often unrealized this season - that helped the Wolverines destroy Minnesota 83-55 on Tuesday.
"For those of you that want to (point to their record), you know, basketball's a funny sport," Izzo said. "Sports in general is funny. It's not, the best players don't win, the best teams do. And you know what, they've been a very average 3-point shooting team all year with a lot of great 3-point shooters. I don't think there's any question, that team is good enough to beat anybody."
That team almost beat MSU on Jan. 26 in Crisler Arena, but a late Kalin Lucas jumper delivered a 57-56 win for the Spartans.
Today, someone will get a "program" win, for different reasons.
"You have to enjoy the opportunity," MSU sophomore forward Draymond Green said of playing U-M with a title on the line. "It doesn't happen all the time so you have to seize the moment."
