Izzone & Fans Set to Bid Seniors Farewell, Look to Sweep Michigan

Michigan State was in the driver’s seat after a grueling 5-game winning streak of ranked opponents and Quad 1 quality wins. In that, they popped Michigan in the mouth in their own building a week-and-a-half ago and now, are looking to send off their trio of Seniors (Jaden Akins, Frankie Fidler and Syzmon Zapala) in style, capping their regular season with another win against UofM.

PTS: 27
FG: 10-14#OTD 5️⃣ years ago, @cassiuswinston starred in his final game to lead @MSU_Basketball to a share of its third straight @bigten crown 🏆🏆🏆#B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/CV4Dg9g7b7

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 8, 2025

Throw out the stats, throw out the records and buckle up for what should be a highly energetic and potentially, combustible atmosphere in the Breslin Center Sunday afternoon. Unlike the other Senior Night that happened, there won’t be an empty seat in the building with standing room only. Both teams are locked into double byes with Wisconsin losing Saturday to PSU and Illinois beating Purdue Friday night.

With nothing on the line aside from NCAA seeding with another Quad 1 win, this will be a back yard brawl. Michigan has slumped down the stretch losing 3 of their past 5 including 3 home games against tournament bound teams (ILL, MD and MSU) while MSU has picked up after the Indiana loss on a 6-game winning streak. Michigan’s depth isn’t as deep nor as quality compared to the Spartans. Except some seldomly used plays, an urgency to get out in transition and emphatic dunks, blocks and roof-raising roars that might cause younger fans to cover their ears.

Defense will continue to be the focus for MSU and will look to improve their first half as they’ve been trailing or tied in most of their last few games, needing a stellar second half to regain control and drive them down the final 5 minutes to victory. In a perfect world, MSU holds a sizeable lead with under 5 minutes left to give the 3 seniors their moment and allow the reserves an opportunity to play in front of their home crowd, one more time. On the flip side, could this be the last time we see Xavier Booker in the Breslin Center? The 6’11” forward has a year left of eligibility but has endured an ugly decline and almost no minutes the recent winning streak. Regardless, it will be a moment to remember as the team celebrates their championship with the goal of 2 more: Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.

The Spartans are hot at the right time–Tom Izzo’s time and only MSU, Auburn, Duke, St. John’s, Saint Mary’s and Houston are among those who have lost no more than 3 games since December 1st, 2024. Considering all but Saint Mary’s (21st) are ranked inside the Top 10, that’s pretty good company to be in. Additionally, MSU and Auburn were the only schools with 10+ Quad 1 wins, heading into the week. At the time of this, Auburn lost at home to Alabama in OT after dropping the previous tilt at Texas A&M. The only two questions will be: how many points will MSU score and how few will Michigan have? It wouldn’t be an-instate rivalry without boiling chirpiness and a technical foul or two with some stare downs.

Celebrating our seniors tomorrow 💚 🤍 pic.twitter.com/Wcl12GFk9w

— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) March 8, 2025

In short, Go Green, PPTPW and Strength in Numbers. It’s March, say less.

Game Time: Sunday, 12:00 pm on CBS.

Record/Rankings & More:

25-5 (16-3, 1st-Big Ten) Rankings: #8 AP / #7 Coaches Poll

Updated KenPom- Off: 29th / Def: 5th. Adjusted Tempo: 160th. SOS Net Rtg: 35th +12.66

Updated Bart Torvik- ADJOE: 41st/ADJDE: 8th / EFF.FGD%: 46.0 (13th) / ORBD %: 35.9 (22nd) & DRBD %: 25.0 (11th)

Other Metrics: KPI (6th), ESPN SoR (7th), ESPN BPI (12th), T-Rank: 16th — #15 in FT % (78.7%), #15 in FTM/game (17.4)/ #41 in FTA/game (22.1)

FULL KenPom Stats: https://kenpom.com/index.php

FULL Bart Torvik Stats: https://barttorvik.com/#

FULL T-Rank Stats: https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2025/net-teamsheets-plus#google_vignette