Michigan announces date for rescheduled home game against MSU
Michigan basketball’s Jan. 8 game against Michigan State had to be postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Wolverines’ program, much to the disappointment of players, coaches and fans on both sides. U-M did not meet the threshold of having at least seven players and one coach available for the game.
After three weeks of waiting, the Big Ten has determined the makeup date for the rescheduled contest, which will take place Thursday, March 1 at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, and the program is encouraging its fans to wear maize for a ‘Maize Out.’
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Michigan and Michigan State played in East Lansing over the weekend, with the Spartans taking an 83-67 victory after being favored by two points. The Wolverines allowed 44 second-half points and went cold for stretches, including missing 11-straight shots at one point, leading to the setback. Michigan was a two-point favorite before the Jan. 8 game that was postponed, and is projected by Bart Torvik’s T-Rank to beat the Spartans by that same number in the March 1 game.
This was one of two Michigan games that were postponed during the early-January stretch. The Wolverines rescheduled their home game against Purdue for Feb. 10 in Ann Arbor, with that announcement having come last week.
The Wolverines’ final week of the regular season will now include four games in eight days — all of which are against top-30 teams in the NCAA’s NET rankings. While the level of difficulty is steep, Michigan — which is fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid — may need to string together some marquee victories at the end of the season, and the challenge would provide a great opportunity to do so.
This outing is one of nine remaining contests that, as it stands today, would qualify as a Quad 1 contest. Michigan is 1-4 in such games this season.
Quad 1: at Purdue (Feb. 5), vs. Purdue Feb. 10), vs. Ohio State (Feb. 12), at Iowa (Feb. 17), at Wisconsin (Feb. 20), vs. Illinois (Feb. 27), vs. Michigan State (March 1) vs. Iowa (March 3), at Ohio State (March 6)
Quad 2: at Penn State (Feb. 8)
Quad 3: vs. Rutgers (Feb. 23)
Quad 4: vs. Nebraska (Feb. 1)
Michigan is back on the hardwood Tuesday night against Nebraska, looking to bounce back from Saturday’s loss. The Wolverines will then travel to West Lafayette for a showdown with Purdue Saturday, which is one of two games in a six-day stretch against the Boilermakers.
