Plans revealed for Saturday Michigan-MSU basketball game
The Michigan – MSU game Saturday night in Ann Arbor had been in question after the tragic event in East Lansing last week in which a shooter killed three Michigan State students and critically wounded 5 others. Several Michigan State events were canceled or postponed, including classes and a Wednesday night game between the Spartans and Minnesota.
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Saturday night’s Michigan vs. MSU game in Ann Arbor, however, is a go. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. with a national broadcast on FOX with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson, and the Wolverines will wear specially designed team warm-ups to recognize the Spartans.
In addition, 2,000 specially designed t-shirts will be available for the Maize Rage and student ticket holders, and a 12 x 8 foot “Spartan Strong” flag will hang in the student sections. There will be a moment of silence for the MSU victims before the game, and the Michigan pep band will learn and perform the the Michigan State alma mater.
During the moment of silence, Crisler Center will be lit green and white using programmable LED wristbands distributed to all fans upon entry.
The game was originally scheduled as a “Maize Out,” and those fans not wearing the specially designed T-shirt will be encouraged to wear their maize clothing.
At halftime, Michigan will honor the 10-year anniversary of the Wolverines’ run to the Final Four and national title game. Head coach John Beilein, along with Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Nik Stauskas, Spike Albrecht, and others will be on hand, and Beilein is expected to address the crowd. Beilein, of course, stepped down after the 2018-19 season in which he led the Wolverines to the Sweet 16, to take the head coach job with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. He won four Big Ten titles at Michigan (two regular season, two tournament) and led the Wolverines to two national title games.
The 2013 team lost to Louisville, 82-76, after beating Syracuse in a Final Four tilt.
It’s a reunion weekend for Michigan basketball, too, so several other U-M alums are expected to attend. Stu Douglass and Zack Novak, members of Beilein’s first recruiting class, plan to be in attendance. For Douglass, it will be his first time at Crisler Center since he left Michigan and embarked on a long professional career in Israel.
The decision to play Saturday was made after the athletic directors from both schools discussed it.
“The safety and physical and mental well-being of our students and staff is the primary focus of Michigan State athletics,” MSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller said in a release on the school’s website. “In consultation with mental health professionals and in conversations with our student-athletes it became apparent that a return to practice and competition is a crucial part of their recovery. Student-athletes were given an active voice in the decision to return to competition, as well as the autonomy to make their own individual choices about participation.
“Athletics can be a rallying point for a community in need of healing, a fact many of our student-athletes have mentioned to me. The opportunity to represent our entire community has never felt greater. I also recognize that everyone grieves in their own unique manner, and there are some who aren’t ready to return to athletic events. Those feelings are incredibly valid, and as Coach Izzo so eloquently stated last night, I hope that we will all focus on taking care of one another.”
