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MSU, U-M to play twice next season

The Spartans and Wolverines will each visit each other's arena during the 2018-19 season as part of the Big Ten's new 20-game schedule.

Michigan and Michigan State basketball fans won’t have to wait until the postseason next year to watch their teams play twice.

The Spartans and Wolverines will each visit each other’s arena during the 2018-19 season as part of the Big Ten’s new 20-game schedule. The conference released one- and two-play matchups on Thursday afternoon but no dates and times.

Three in-state rivals – MSU-Michigan, Illinois-Northwestern and Indiana-Purdue – are now guaranteed to play each other twice with the expanded conference schedule, which begins this fall.

MSU, which won the outright Big Ten regular-season championship, will face U-M, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers both home and away next season. The Spartans get Maryland, Minnesota and Northwestern at Breslin Center only, and will travel to Illinois, Penn State and Wisconsin for their lone meetings between the teams.

The Spartans played the Wolverines just once during the regular season, an 82-72 loss at Breslin on Jan. 13. Michigan beat MSU, 75-64, in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on March 3 at Madison Square Garden.

The Spartans (30-5, 16-2 Big Ten in 2017-18) played the four teams that finished directly behind – were Purdue, Ohio State, U-M and Nebraska – them just once apiece. MSU lost its lone road game in that group to the Buckeyes on Jan. 7.

The Wolverines (33-8, 13-5), who won the Big Ten tournament title for the second straight season en route to making the NCAA championship game, will face Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin both at home and on the road next season. U-M hosts Nebraska, Ohio State and Purdue at Crisler Center and will take the road to face Illinois, Iowa and Rutgers.

Both MSU coach Tom Izzo and Michigan coach John Beilein said throughout the season that expanding to a 20-game conference schedule made it important to protect the rivalry and play twice each year.

“I think it’s gonna be good that we’re going to the two. I think John agrees, everybody agrees – playing your rival twice is what everybody wants,” Izzo said in January. “The players want it, coaches want it, fans want it, media wants it. So that’s one of those things that I give the Big Ten office credit for next year.”

Beilein agreed.

“It’s what should be happening,” Beilein said at Big Ten media day in October, when the protected rivalries and 20-game schedule were announced. “I mean, there was never a doubt in any way, shape or form. It’s really smart scheduling for us. We’re doing it in football, and in basketball, it just makes so much sense. Both interest-wise and financially, the whole deal is a great concept that we’ve both embraced.”

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