Matchups between Michigan and Michigan State always will have meaning to their fan bases.In terms of the Big Ten race, the regular-season finale between the in-state rivals in East Lansing on Sunday afternoon is essentially a tuneup for the conference tournament.The eighth-ranked Spartans clinched the regular season title outright with a 91-84 road win over Iowa on Thursday. They had that opportunity because No. 17 Michigan, the only team that could catch Michigan State in the standings, lost 71-65 to Maryland the previous night.Head coach Tom Izzo has now won 11 conference titles. Michigan State secured its first outright league championship since 2018.The Spartans (25-5 overall, 16-3 Big Ten) have won six straight games, including a 75-62 triumph over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Feb. 21.Against the Hawkeyes, Michigan State typically relied on balance and depth to wear down the opponent. A handful of Spartans reached double figures, led by freshman Jase Richardson’s 22 points.Iowa led by as much as 14 points and held a seven-point halftime advantage but the Spartans scored 61 second-half points.”Am I happy we won the Big Ten? I’m ecstatic,” Izzo said. “I’ll be ecstatic when I walk out of this building, till I get to the plane, then the (former football coach) George Perles rule is out the door because it’s Michigan week, so we start preparing for them right away. I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat and tell you I’m excited how we played just because we won, because that’s not going to get me where I think we can go and need to go.”Iowa shot 47.6 percent and Izzo knows his defense has to be tighter for his team to make deep tournament runs.