Michigan head coach Dusty May will make his first foray into the intense rivalry between his Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans on Friday when No. 12 Michigan hosts No. 14 Michigan State.
He’s already coached against Ohio State wearing maize and blue, and his Wolverines were victorious in Columbus.
That’s the biggest rivalry in sports on the football field, but Michigan vs. Michigan State is perhaps even more heated in college basketball. On the other bench is legendary coach Tom Izzo, who has coached in this game many times.
As far as May is concerned, though, he only knows what this rivalry feels like from watching the games on television.
“I mean, every game I watched … it was obvious, the amount of intensity and passion for the game,” May told the media on Monday (h/t On3). “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.”
May will now have an opportunity to experience the rivalry in person and be intimately involved as head coach.
The whole state of Michigan will be watching this one, and again, Izzo and his 700 career wins will be across the court from May. It will be intense.
