Michigan, Michigan State meet in Big Ten finals
Michigan (28-5, 17-5) vs. Michigan State (27-6, 18-4)
Big Ten Tourney Championship, United Center, Chicago; Sunday, 2:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Michigan is set to face off against Michigan State in the Championship of the Big Ten tourney. Michigan State swept the two-game regular season series. The teams last met on March 9, when the Spartans outshot Michigan 46.9 percent to 40.3 percent and hit 18 more free throws en route to the 75-63 victory.
SAVVY SENIORS: Michigan State's Cassius Winston, Kenny Goins and Matt McQuaid have collectively scored 45 percent of the team's points this season, including 58 percent of all Spartans scoring over the last five games.
CREATING OFFENSE: Winston has either made or assisted on 55 percent of all Michigan State field goals over the last five games. The junior guard has 32 field goals and 39 assists in those games.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: Michigan is a perfect 23-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 43.1 percent or less. The Wolverines are 5-5 when allowing opponents to shoot any better than that.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Spartans have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Wolverines. Michigan State has 50 assists on 72 field goals (69.4 percent) across its past three outings while Michigan has assists on 55 of 85 field goals (64.7 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Michigan offense has recorded a turnover on only 13.8 percent of its possessions, which is the third-best rate in the nation. The Michigan State defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 15.1 percent of all possessions (ranked 345th among Division I teams).
