Nimari Burnett, Michigan basketball ‘very prepared’ for first-place battle with MSU

No. 12 Michigan men’s basketball welcomes rival No. 14 Michigan State at 8 p.m. Friday night in Ann Arbor. The Spartans sit a half-game back from the Big Ten leading Wolverines, and they still play each other twice. Michigan will be going for its seventh-straight win.

Michigan basketball ‘very prepared’ for showdown with Michigan State

It will be the rivalry’s first top-15 matchup since January 5, 2020, wherein the visiting Wolverines fell 87-69. Both teams were ranked in the same spots as they are heading into Friday night.

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Michigan guard Nimari Burnett is one of few players on the roster who have experienced an MSU game. He said the rankings don’t matter when it comes to this matchup.

“No doubt, whether we’re playing for first place or fifth place, this is the one,” Burnett said. “I think the team is very prepared.”

Not only would it be seven wins in a row, but a Michigan win Friday night would mean back-to-back wins over the school’s biggest rivals, as it beat Ohio State Sunday. Considering where the team was last Burnett said the team tries to block out everything external.

“Multiple games have higher stakes, and they cause you to be very pumped for the moment, to be excited for the moment,” Burnett said. “That’s when we rely on our training, practice, and our own individual and team process of being ready for the moment. 

“(We’re) just staying even keel, focusing on the process versus the actual rivalry.”

A win would give the Wolverines a 1.5 game lead over MSU in the Big Ten. No. 11 Wisconsin also sits 1.5 games back, but Michigan already beat the Badgers on the road early in December.

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