It’s a great time to be a basketball fan in the state of Michigan.
Michigan State and Michigan faced uncertainty entering the season. The Spartans have their streak of 26 consecutive appearances in the men’s tournament, but they’ve only been to the Sweet 16 once since 2019, leaving wonder if Tom Izzo had another deep run left in East Lansing. Meanwhile, Michigan brought in Dusty May to turnaround a program that was coming off its worst season in more than 40 years.
But with a mix of old and new, the two programs are thriving and leading the Big Ten with 5-0 conference records.
May mastered the portal in his first season in Ann Arbor, primarily with him bringing Vladislav Goldin with him from Florida Atlantic. During Michigan’s five league wins that includes a sweep at the California schools, the big man has averaged a conference-best 22.0 points and added 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 67.9% from the field.
For Izzo’s squad, it’s been a mix of veterans led by senior Jaden Akins and freshman Jase Richardson propelling Michigan State to a nine-game win streak. The Spartans have been playing the typical solid defense, but the offense has improved by getting to the foul line and making their shots at the charity stripe, the second best free-throw percentage in the country (81.5%).
It’s become somewhat normal for both fanbases to feel uneasy about the postseason, but there’s now a renewed sense of optimism, and both teams lead the top storylines from the past weekend in hoops.
Top teams survive on the road
Plenty of the nation’s top teams were tested over the weekend with road contests, likely foreshadowing numerous tough bouts heading their way in conference play.
After the thumping it took at Florida, top-ranked Tennessee regrouped and showed resilience by pulling away from Texas for a 74-70 road win. Auburn got a major scare when player of the year candidate Johni Broome suffered an ankle injury, but the Tigers rallied past South Carolina. Then there was Iowa State, who surely looked like would lose to Texas Tech before a buzzer-beater got the Cyclones into overtime before winning in the extra period. That doesn’t include Alabama, Kentucky, Florida and Connecticut leaving hostile crowds with some close victories.
With the exception of Auburn, all of those top teams earned Quad 1 victories, much needed as all of them jockey for positioning in March. Yet plenty of tests await them the rest of the way, and any opportunity to show some fight is needed.
Southern California gets big win over Illinois
The Eric Musselman experience at Southern California has had a rather bumpy start, but the first-year head coach got his first signature win when the Trojans went into Champaign and gave Illinois a taste of its own medicine.
Illinois has been a scoring juggernaut so far, but it was the USC offense that couldn’t be stopped in the second half of an 82-72 win. Trailing by three points at intermission, USC shot 57.6% from the field in the second half and limited one of the best rebounding teams in the country.
The Trojans have a long way to go before they can be considered for the tournament picture, but getting the first Quad 1 win of the season while also achieving the first ranked road win since 2010 is a great start as Musselman tries to rebuild the program.
Arizona reviving season in Big 12 play
Almost a month ago, Arizona was sitting at 4-5 after blowing a second-half lead against UCLA. The Wildcats, a regular season powerhouse under Tommy Lloyd, looked like they’d be heading toward a brutal first season in the Big 12.
Instead, Arizona has found its form and are now winners of six in a row since that loss to the Bruins, joining Iowa State and Houston on top of the conference. The Wildcats have done it against some quality opponents as well, picking up a roads win against Cincinnati and avenging a loss to West Virginia. It’s easy to tell the win streak has coincided with veteran guard Caleb Love finally shaking off a rough start to the season. Love is averaging 19.5 points per game during the win streak while the big men have continued to control the boards.
Lloyd and company are red-hot, and they’ll get week of possibly boosting the resume with Baylor and Texas Tech on deck.
Utah State continues to thrive as coaches change
It doesn’t matter who’s in charge in Logan, Utah State continues to do one thing: win.
The Aggies, now on their third coach in three seasons, are the early leader in the Mountain West and have the most wins in Division I with a 16-1 record. However, the latest victory came in one of the most ridiculous ways, with Ian Martinez converting a miraculous four-point play in the final seconds to beat Boise State.
If you haven’t watched Jerrod Calhoun’s team, they are absolutely one to watch. In addition to the raucous environment inside the Smith Spectrum, they’ve found ways to win by either scoring in bunches or playing some tough defense. The Aggies look well on their way to their third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, this time with their eyes set on reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1970.
Alcorn State becomes final team to win
There will be no winless teams in Division I this season. After starting the season 0-14 with one of the worst scoring margins in the country, Alcorn State defended its home court by beating Alabama A&M 62-52 on Saturday. It may not mean much nationally for the Braves to finally get in the win column, but it ensures there won’t be a winless team in the country, which hasn’t happened since Grambling State went 0-28 in 2012-2013.