They've played twice in the past four days, each winning a game. Now the rubber match could happen on Friday.

Michigan and Michigan State have had some great duels in the past few years, and between the tow of them, they have been dominating Big Ten basketball.

Michigan, who clinched the Big 10 regular season title with a win over Sparty last Thursday, was beaten in the return match Sunday in East Lansing, 70-64, giving the Spartans a chance at a NCAA tournament berth.

And now they're on a collision course again.

The pairings for the Big Ten tournament were released Sunday, and if 9th seeded MSU can get past Maryland on Thursday, they would square off in a rubber match against the Wolverines on Friday.

The Wolverines received a bye into Friday's quarterfinal after having won the regular season title.

The two teams have a recent history of meeting in the Big Ten tournament, as they squared off in the championship game in 2019, with MSU prevailing 70-65.

In 2018, it was Michigan taking out Sparty in the semi-finals, 75-64.

Michigan State will face off with Maryland at 11:30am on Thursday, March 11 in Indianapolis, with the winner facing Michigan at the same time on Friday, March 12.

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