Brazdeikis on MSU: 'This Is Probably The Biggest Game of The Year'
With Michigan set to face its biggest rival Sunday afternoon in Michigan State, freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis talked Friday about how excited he was to play the Spartans to the first time.
Both teams have a chance to win the Big Ten title this season.
“I feel like this is probably the biggest game of the year so far, especially because the Big Ten. We’re really close, we’re tied right now in the Big Ten,” Brazdeikis said. “That puts even more magnitude on the game.”
Brazdeikis said he’s eager to the Spartans and said he’s been ready to play in this game for a long time.
“It’s one of the biggest rivalries in college sports and it’s always competitive between the two teams,” Brazdeikis said. “It’s an in-state rivalry and it doesn’t get bigger than that.”
Michigan State is one of the best teams Michigan will have faced all season.
Junior center Jon Teske says their ability to run the field is something that stands out about the Spartans and is going to challenging to slow down.
“Just how well they run in transition and how fast they get the ball up the floor,” Teske said. “How well they play down low. They have very good bigs and we just have to be ready for that.”
With junior forward Nick Ward out due to an injury, Michigan State will have to lean on sophomore forward Xavier Tillman and fifth-year senior forward Kenny Goins.
Brazdeikis is well aware of the size that Michigan State possesses and knows they’ll have to have a tough mindset on the glass.
“Just have to be tougher than them,” Brazdeikis said. “On every single possession be tougher than them with more confidence, more swagger. They’re definitely a big team, but I feel like on the offensive end, they have to guard us.”
Teske has played in this rivalry previous times in his career, so he knows what goes into this game. He has a simple message to the freshmen playing in their first Michigan State game.
“Go out there and have fun,” Teske said. “There’s going to be a lot of energy in the building. It’s going to be a really great game between the two of us.”
Even though there’s going to be energy in the Crisler Center, Brazdeikis said the Wolverines play at their best when they play each team the same. While he understands the magnitude of the game, he downplayed how much it means.
“I feel like the fans hype up the game bigger than it actually is,” Brazdeikis said. “I feel like sometimes, obviously the game is big, but at the end of the day, it’s a regular season game. To me, it’s not any bigger than Minnesota or the other games because at the end of the day, it’s about winning and it’s about us.”
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