The Michigan State Spartans play the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday in the Big Ten Men's Tournament final. Tipoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET. Watch the free live stream or listen to the radio broadcast via the links provided below.
The storied rivalry between Michigan State and Michigan adds another chapter on Sunday when they meet for the first time in the Big Ten tournament. In addition to winning the conference title, the Spartans have the opportunity to avenge getting swept in the regular season by the Wolverines, ESPN reports.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who began his career as an assistant with the Spartans in 1983, knows from experience how the rivalry has swung back and forth throughout the years.
"Well, we've gone through a lot of things over my 20, 25 years, I think, of being an assistant and then a head coach," Izzo said, via ESPN. "I think when Jud (Heathcote) was here, it ended up pretty even, wins and losses. Then we went through the Fab Five era and then I took over and got my tail kicked for quite a while. And then we did some kicking. ...
"I'm not going to get into whether we like them or they like us or whatever because I always get asked that. But there's a respectful rivalry now because both teams are good and both teams are playing for a lot."
The Spartans, ranked No. 22 in the nation, bounced back from their regular-season finale loss at Ohio State by defeating Northwestern and Wisconsin en route to a spot in the conference final.
No. 8 Michigan, meanwhile, took their five-game winning streak into the tournament and now have seven straight wins under their belt. The Wolverines overcame close games against Illinois and Ohio State to earn a shot at the Big Ten title.
Watch the live stream HERE, or listen to the live radio broadcast HERE (MSU) and HERE (MICH).
