My best friend coaches high school basketball in California. We grew up in Ann Arbor as hoops obsessives. He called me on the home phone, because that was how you did it then, when local hero LaVell Blanchard committed to Michigan. We bought tickets for $5 apiece outside of Crisler Arena during the Brian Ellerbe era; one time someone insisted on giving them to us for free. We attended every home game during the glorious NIT title run of 2004.

We also watched a lot of games like this from the other side: a Michigan team desperate to maintain some forward momentum getting smashed back to the Stone Age by Michigan State. As the Spartans hung close in a whistle-marred, stilted first half, my friend sent a text: "We're like 10% more focus from winning this game by 25."

Michigan locked in and won by 19, then celebrated their first regular season Big Ten championship since 2014 in front of Tom Izzo. Juwan Howard earned his first banner as head coach and it feels far from his last. The Wolverines could've been sent reeling by their upset loss against an Ayo Dosunmu-less Illinois team on Tuesday. Instead, they grinded through early foul trouble, got themselves together at the end of the first half, and put on a defensive clinic in the second.

We didn't see this growing up.

another Wagner to haunt Izzo's nightmares [Campredon]

After Michigan jumped out to a 7-0 lead, the pace slowed and the lead shrunk due to turnovers (8 in the first half) and fouls (10), both of which had an outsized impact on Hunter Dickinson, who had eight points, four turnovers, and two fouls before halftime in only nine minutes. Austin Davis also picked up two quick fouls, which led to a Brandon Johns cameo at center that sparked a late first-half spurt to head into the tunnel up by 11. 

Then the superior team put the hammer down. Michigan State shot 9/30 in the second half, going 7:52 without a point as the Michigan pushed the lead to 28 and making four of those field goals after Howard emptied the bench. Franz Wagner hit three quick three-pointers to end any hope of a Spartan comeback, Dickinson stayed foul-free while going 3/4 after the break, and Isaiah Livers and Mike Smith added triples during the scoring barrage.

defense wins championships [Campredon]

The Wolverines could've stopped scoring after a Dickinson bucket with 13:44 to play and still won. Instead, they continued to pour in points until the game got well out of reach. That allowed Howard the chance to give curtain calls to his seniors—Isaiah Livers, Austin Davis, Eli Brooks, and Mike Smith—in their final home game, then root on the bench mob before the confetti fell.

That was the Michigan team we'd become accustomed to watching before Tuesday. That's a one-seed. That's a conference champion.

They can put a stamp on the regular season on Sunday in the rematch at the Breslin Center. A game-long coronation that possibly knocks MSU out of the NCAA Tournament would be a dream way to head into the postseason. We've been waiting a long time.

[Hit THE JUMP for more photos and the box score.]

All photos by Marc-Grégor Campredon.