EAST LANSING— Inside the walls of the Breslin Center, a top 15 rivalry showdown is set between No. 13 Michigan State women’s basketball and No. 9 Michigan. The Spartans are currently undefeated at home this season, and will be vying for their 20th win this year.
This meeting will be the second time in history that the rivals are both in the AP Top 25 rankings. The Green and White have dominated the all-time series against Michigan, leading 74-26, and have won 36 of the 46 games played at the Breslin Center.
The Wolverines, however, took down the Spartans 71-61 in the most recent game between the rivals, on Feb. 9 last year.
As of late, Fralick’s team has taken care of business, most recently beating Purdue handily in West Lafayette, 86-65. MSU will be coming into this game with a lot to play for, as a win would put the Spartans ahead of Michigan in the Big Ten standings, and potentially boost their seed projection for the NCAA tournament.
Michigan is currently tied for second place in the Big Ten with Iowa, and just has one loss in conference play against Washington. This was also their only loss away from home this season. The Wolverines are coming off of a road blowout win against Indiana, 95-67, and are on a three-game win streak at the moment.
To pull off the upset, the Green and White will need their top dogs to contribute the way they have all season. That starts in the front court with senior forward Grace VanSlooten. VanSlooten is coming off of a 17 point, and eight rebound outing against Purdue and leads MSU in scoring. VanSlooten will likely be going toe to toe against Michigan forward Ashley Sofilkanich, who has 17 blocks and 15 steals on the year, so that’ll be a matchup to watch for down low.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Blair will be the catalyst in the Spartans’ backcourt. Blair has been one of the more efficient players for Fralick this season. She’s averaging 13.4 points per game, but her aggressiveness on the glass has illuminated her role on this team. At just 5’9, Blair leads MSU in rebounding, averaging seven boards per game. She’ll be going up against a strong Wolverine guard duo in Syla Swords and Olivia Olson.
Speaking of Olson, she will be the main threat Fralick’s squad has to keep its eye on. She’s played every game for Michigan this year and is their leading scorer, with an average of 18.5 points per game. Olson has reached double figures in each game this season and was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, Naismith Watch List, and voted to the preseason All-Big Ten team.
This will be the first of two meetings between the Spartans and Wolverines this season, as coach Fralick and coach Kim Barnes Arico will have their respective teams ready to do battle in the first-ever game where both squads are ranked in the Top 15.
The in-state foes are scheduled to meet on Sunday, Feb. 1, with tipoff scheduled for 12 p.m. in East Lansing. Josh Lee and Brian Rivers will be on the call, and the game can be listened to locally on 88.9 FM or at https://impact89fm.org/.
