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Michigan uses big second-half rally to beat Michigan State for first time in Breslin Center since 2018

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No. 3 Michigan made a statement on Friday with an 83-71 win over No. 7 Michigan State to move into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings. The Wolverines were coming off a win over Nebraska — one of three unbeaten teams in Division I basketball — before moving to 5-0 against AP Top 25 opponents with a victory over their in-state rival.

The Wolverines (20-1, 10-1 Big Ten) have now won six consecutive games since dropping their only game of the season against Wisconsin earlier this month. Michigan is now 7-0 against Quad 1 opponents, and 17 of its 21 wins have been by at least 10 points. 

Michigan State (19-3, 9-2) entered the week 12-6 overall against Michigan when both programs were ranked and had won seven of the last nine matchups against its in-state rival. The Wolverines had only three wins in their last 25 meetings when playing at the Breslin Center. 

Friday marked Michigan’s first win over MSU on the road since 2018 in one of the most anticipated matchups in the No. 197 meeting between the programs.

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Michigan star forward Yaxel Lendeborg led the charge by finishing with 26 points and 12 rebounds. The former UAB star recorded his fourth double-double of the season in the victory, while fellow transfer guard Elliot Cadeau scored nine of his 17 points in the second half.

Mara continues to be one of the best transfer portal additions

Part of what made Michigan such a difficult matchup last season was the two-big lineup that May deployed with Wolf and Goldin both starting in the frontcourt. May kept a similar style this season, with a frontline of Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara that gives opposing teams headaches.

Mara, a former blue-chip recruit in the 2023 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, is averaging 2.6 blocks per game despite logging just 22.9 minutes per game. The former UCLA big man was underused during his time with the Bruins. Case and point? Mara logged at least 20 minutes in just 11 games combined during his two seasons with the program.

Under May at Michigan, Mara has become one of — if not the best defenders in college basketball. He’s shooting 68.9% from the field and is also one of the best outlet passers in the sport. Mara is one of the best transfer portal additions in the sport.

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Mara finished with eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes.

A tale of two halves

Michigan State was a completely different team in the second half. The Spartans shot 7 of 26 (2 of 12 from the 3-point line) in the first half, but the final 20 minutes were a different story. Michigan State knocked down 15 of 34 shots (44.1%) in the second half and was able to chip away at the deficit.

It all started when MSU opened the second half on a 15-4 run. However, what hurt MSU was the 3-point shooting. As a team, Michigan State was just 4 of 23 from downtown. Michigan State took its first lead of the game with 7:27 remaining, but Michigan proceeded to knock down six of its next seven shots to regain the lead for good.

Michigan State, per KenPom.com, allows the lowest offensive rebounding percentage (21.4) in the sport. The Spartans had only allowed double-digit offensive rebounds once (against Arkansas) entering the night. Michigan secured 11 offensive rebounds, and six of them came from Lendeborg.

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When Michigan defeated Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last spring, the Wolverines were able to advance by beating the Aggies at their own game: on the offensive glass. Tonight was more of the same. Michigan created second-chance opportunities in the first half. The Wolverines outscored the Spartans 14-6 in second-chance points.

Michigan’s path to the Big Ten regular-season title

In CBS Sports’ latest Bracketology projections, Michigan remained a No. 1 seed alongside Duke, Arizona and Nebraska. With the NCAA Tournament less than two months away, the Wolverines still have time to add to their resume to potentially secure the No. 1 overall seed in the Big Dance.

After picking up a win over Michigan State, the path to a Big Ten regular-season title is also clearer. Notable games in conference play the rest of the season include a matchup on the road against Purdue, home games against UCLA and Michigan State and another road game against No. 9 Illinois. Another game on the schedule (that obviously isn’t part of conference play) is a matchup against Duke on Feb. 21. That game could have major stakes as a resume builder for both teams.

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Bracketology Snapshot: Key games worth monitoring this weekend

Isaac Trotter

Bracketology Snapshot: Key games worth monitoring this weekend
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Michigan’s last regular-season Big Ten title came in 2021. The Wolverines have captured the Big Ten regular season title three times since the turn of the century. Michigan won the Big Ten tournament title and reached the Sweet 16 last season during Dusty May’s first season at the helm. It was one of the best year-to-year turnarounds in college basketball history.

This version of Michigan might be just as good as last year. That’s saying a lot after May rebuilt a majority of this roster via the transfer portal and high school recruiting. Michigan is a legit national title threat. The Wolverines have everything it takes to be the final team standing in Indianapolis in April. This game was a prime example of why.

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Football gossip: Salah, Collins, Casemiro, Wirtz, Onana, Mainoo, Griezmann

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Mohamed Salah would be happy to stay at Liverpool until 2027, there are six Premier League clubs interested in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nnamdi Collins, while Casemiro wants to keep playing in Europe.

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, 33, is happy to see out the remainder of his Liverpool contract, which runs up to the end of next season, should a move to the Saudi Pro League not materialise this summer. (Football Insider), external

Eintracht Frankfurt’s 22-year-old Germany defender Nnamdi Collins is the subject of interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester United‘s Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 34, wants to continue his career in Europe when his contract ends at Old Trafford in the summer, and Italy is a possible next destination. (Sun), external

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German agent Volker Struth, who has worked with Florian Wirtz in the past, says he offered the Germany midfielder to Real Madrid last summer before his £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool. (Phrasenmaher via Mirror), external

Manchester United plan to sell Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana, 29, this summer, but expect to receive significantly less than the £50m they paid Inter Milan to sign him in 2023. (Talksport), external

However, Onana wants to fight to re-establish himself as Manchester United‘s number one when his loan spell at Trabzonspor finishes in May – and believes he will be given a chance to do so. (Guardian), external

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Vinicius Strikes as Real Madrid Eliminate Benfica

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Vinicius Jr was on target as Real Madrid booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League after defeating Benfica at the Bernabeu.

The Brazilian forward had been at the centre of attention before the match. In the first leg, he alleged that he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni shortly after scoring. Prestianni later received a one-match suspension and was absent for the return fixture.

Before kick-off in Madrid, home supporters displayed a banner reading “No to racism” in Spanish, showing their backing for Vinicius.

  • Victor OsimhenVictor Osimhen

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When the match began, the winger let his football do the talking. With 10 minutes remaining, he calmly fired the ball past the goalkeeper to seal a 3–1 aggregate win for Los Blancos.

Benfica had started brightly and took the lead in the 14th minute. Rafa Silva reacted quickly to a loose ball after Thibaut Courtois stopped Raúl Asencio’s attempted clearance from ending up in his own net.

However, their advantage lasted only two minutes. Aurelien Tchouameni responded with a superb strike from outside the box to score his first Champions League goal.

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Real Madrid were without the injured Kylian Mbappe and at times felt his absence in attack, as Benfica continued to threaten and searched for a way back into the tie.

In the end, Vinicius’ decisive goal — his sixth in five matches — ensured Real Madrid progressed. They will now prepare to face either Manchester City or Sporting in the next round.

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Prayers up for AEW star Eddie Kingston

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An unfortunate update has surfaced regarding popular AEW star Eddie Kingston amidst his brief absence from the company. This has been due to the health issues he has been facing.

At All Out: Toronto last year, the Mad King made his long-awaited return to the company after more than a year. His hiatus was due to a severe leg injury he sustained when he defended one of his titles at an NJPW show. He has been on a great run of his own following his return, with his last match being earlier this month. This was an eight-man tag team parking lot fight.

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PWInsider has reported that Eddie Kingston is not backstage for AEW Dynamite tonight. He has also pulled out of his commitments this weekend for events on the independent circuit. It was revealed that this was due to severe migraine headaches he has been having.


MJF recently fired shots at Eddie Kingston’s health issues

MJF is one individual who doesn’t mince his words when he is in character, which is the case for all his public appearances. He has gotten personal with several of his rivals over the years.

In a recent interview with the Kairouz Bros in Australia, he fired shots at Eddie Kingston, claiming he was the exact opposite of him. He took the smart road out and competed in fewer matches, while Kingston was someone whom he claims had full-blown CTE due to the matches he had competed in. Friedman claimed this was the reason why the Mad King had been avoiding a match with him.

“It’s not a bad thing at all. It’s less bumps I’ve got to take and less CTE I’m walking towards. A guy like Eddie Kingston, he’s already got full-blown CTE. Let’s be honest, the guy doesn’t even know where he is anymore. That’s why he refuses to wrestle me. He’s scared of me, and as he should be, because I think if he took one punch from me, he’s out,” said the AEW World Champ about the former Continental Champion. [H/T Fightful on X]

MJF explains why being a part-timer in wrestling is not bad. “It’s not a bad thing at all. It’s less bumps I’ve got to take and less CTE I’m walking towards. A guy like Eddie Kingston, he’s already got full-blown CTE. Let’s be honest, the guy doesn’t even know where he is

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The timing of the quote is unfortunate, but it seems like Eddie Kingston won’t be around for some time once more. There has yet to be further information on his recovery timeline, but we at Sportskeeda hope this is nothing bad, and that he recovers quickly.