Michigan State and Michigan stand united in wake of tragedy before rivalry basketball game

The scene was incongruent, and yet it fit the moment. Inside the home of Michigan basketball, a wash of green illuminated the lower bowl and the court at its base. Michigan State’s primary color blanketed Crisler Center, the Spartans’ solemn alma mater trilled, and a Maize-clad crowd stood in silence.

This was a rival’s somber tribute to a university stricken by tragedy last Monday, when a gunman opened fire on the sprawling East Lansing campus and upended an entire community.

Three MSU students — Arielle Anderson, Alexandria Verner and Brian Fraser — were killed. Five others were injured. Countless more were affected and traumatized by the terror.

The aftershocks reverberated far beyond Ingham County. They were felt in Ann Arbor, where U-M hosted MSU’s basketball team in the Spartans' first game since the horrors of a shooting spree rippled near the banks of the Red Cedar River.

“You've just got to figure out a way to honor the people that were senselessly killed,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said Thursday. “And yet our way of being able to do that is to play.”

Izzo’s comments came roughly 24 hours after the Spartans were supposed to face Minnesota at the Breslin Center. That game was postponed, and all athletic competition was tabled until Friday, as MSU began the healing process.

That set the stage for Saturday, where two rivals locked arms and mourned the loss of life. The Michigan student section raised a green banner with the words, “Spartan Strong,” the rallying cry that has become an oft-repeated refrain in the heartbreaking aftermath. Izzo and his assistants wore T-Shirts with the same message. Before the game, U-M’s players draped themselves in customized apparel that read, “Michigan Basketball stands with MSU.”

And when Spartans took the court to warm up, Michigan fans stood and applauded.

The display of unity came 16 Saturdays after one of the darkest chapters opened in this rivalry last fall. Just beyond the northwest entrance of the Crisler Center, inside the tunnel at the neighboring football stadium, a group of Michigan State players besieged a pair of Michigan defensive backs following the Wolverines’ 29-7 victory over the Spartans on Oct. 29.

The fracas, part of which was caught on video, made national headlines. Eight members of MSU’s football team were immediately suspended and seven of them would later face criminal charges levied by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office. The Big Ten reprimanded Michigan and fined Michigan State $100,000 following the incident. The ugly episode inflamed the heated feud between the schools, spilling onto message boards and social media.

But on Saturday, MSU and U-M stood together, mourning the victims of a tragedy that hit too close to home. The coaching staffs greeted each other with hugs.

Michigan fans held signs in support of Michigan State.

"This is not easy, it's a tough one we are all dealing with and I say we all because our heart goes out to the Michigan State family and also more importantly, condolences to the families of the lost ones,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said Friday. “This is not one of those where you think about the sport, you think about people."

Contact Rainer Sabin: rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State, Michigan stand united in wake of tragedy before game