EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May congratulated his team on a hard-fought 83-71 victory over the No. 7-ranked Michigan State Spartans inside the Breslin Center.
The victory marked the Wolverines’ first win in East Lansing since 2018.
“I want to begin with congratulating our guys on a hard-fought win,” said May. “We respect these guys from Michigan State a great, great deal,” May said.
May recalled his childhood memories of intense basketball environments and noted, “Tonight felt like that. This was electric.”
He acknowledged the physicality of the game and the challenge his team faced, especially after a rough start to the second half.
“We were struggling to find any rhythm offensively,” May said. “We just made a few bad decisions, we gave them easy baskets, we got the crowd into it.”
Despite the challenges, May praised his players for their resilience.
He highlighted the performance of Yaxel Lendeborg, who scored 26 points and grabbed six offensive rebounds.
“Each of those were the deciding plays,” May said. “He obviously made big free throw after big free throw in a very, very intense environment.”
The win was significant for the Wolverines, marking two straight top-10 victories during a pivotal week of the season, including a win over No. 5-ranked Wisconsin and a victory over the Spartans.
May said, “I think we proved that we can still win in different ways. Our guys were able to do that tonight.”
May also discussed the battle between elite point guards on both teams, with Elliot Cadeau and Jeremy Fears Jr. receiving high praise from May, who spoke about the physicality and skill of his players.
“We just put the ball in [Cadeau’s] hands and tried to camouflage what we were doing just a little bit without over-complicating it, and he got us some great looks.”
When asked about the team’s ability to come back after losing an 18-point lead, May said, “No, I would rather kept that 18-point lead and maybe build on it and play great. But we also have to be able to win these types of games, to not collapse when it looked bleak.”
May described the decision to walk out before the Michigan State fans and “soak in that welcome” as a way to let the crowd release their frustration early.
“I just let them get all their frustration and their animosity out early, and then that way they can enjoy the game,” May said.
In the final moments of the game, May instructed his team to “keep our composure” and avoid distractions.
Reflecting on the significance of breaking the losing streak at Michigan State, May said, “If you’re resulting, absolutely, we did everything right. We just focused on what we needed to do to win the game.”
May also spoke about the program’s growth during his second year as head coach.
“We’re still held accountable that we don’t have 50-year seniors in year two. And so we’re trying to build it with the right type of people. We’ve made a big jump in year two,” May said.
Regarding the first half of the game, May noted that Michigan State’s undisciplined fouls kept the Spartans in rhythm.
“Even with us playing that well, we felt like we should have had a little bit bigger of a margin,” May said.
May concluded by acknowledging the toughness of the Michigan State team and the importance of this win for his team’s confidence moving forward.
“This is going to give our guys even more confidence,” May said.