THE ESSENTIALS WHAT #53 Michigan (14-12, 8-7 Big Ten) vs #31 Michigan State (16-9, 8-6 Big Ten) WHERE Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI WHEN 8 PM Saturday THE LINE Kenpom: M -1 Torvik: M –1 TELEVISION FOX THE OVERVIEW Sports are just sports and some things are bigger than sports. Our deepest condolences go out to the MSU community. We're going to carry on because there's nothing else to do. Write your state senator. Michigan is more or less just playing out the string at this point after narrow losses to Indiana and Wisconsin put their tourney hopes on life support. "Must win" is not quite literal yet since Michigan can get on the right side of the bubble, per Torvik by going 4-1 down the stretch. That would put them at 18-13, 12-8 in the league. They'd have a shot. It's difficult to see that as a realistic possibility after Wisconsin just crushed them on the offensive boards and won a game without scoring a bucket in the last 10:45, but it is within the realm of, uh, reality that Michigan is not dead yet. They are absolutely on the cart. Anyway: MSU is still about as mediocre as they appeared when Michigan clunked their way to a narrow loss at Breslin in a game where no one could buy a bucket. They're 8-6 in the league but have three good nonconference wins to hang their hats on and are currently a 7-seed in the Bracket Matrix and on Torvik. They're about 20 points higher in the Kenpom rankings than Michigan, FWIW. THE US Seth's graphic [click to embiggen]: faq for these graphics We don't know the status of Terrance Williams for this one. THE LINEUP CARD Seth's graphic [click for big]: MSU is full-go. Seth would like to emphasize that MSU assist rates are inflated. [Hit THE JUMP for a must win]