Dusty May continues criticism of Michigan State's in-game tradition ahead of B1G Tournament
Dusty May went through a wide range of emotions to end the regular season, and for good reason.
Michigan, on the road against Michigan State, was thoroughly outplayed and beaten by the in-state rival Spartans for the 2nd time in the season. If that isn’t bad enough, there was a late-game scuffle between the two teams with MSU players taking exception to a pair of Wolverines camped out on the midcourt logo as the Spartans went through their longstanding Senior Day tradition of kissing the logo.
While the incident is done and over with, May has — apparently — not quite gotten over things. He has since appeared on multiple podcasts to discuss the incident while continuing to be critical of Michigan State’s tradition, both for the length of the process and the idea that he should have known about it ahead of time.
In his appearance on “Pardon My Take,” May said he didn’t know the full protocol and expressed surprise that the Spartans would do that tradition “during the game.” May claimed that most teams pull all their seniors out at one time and move on, even though he was told by the officials what was about to happen.
“I said ‘Great,’ and I think it was (Frankie) Fidler went out and took the applause,” said May. “I forget the next player came out, and our players were standing in their exact same spot. It looked like they were having a conversation and by the way we played, they probably weren’t talking about the next assignment.
“… Then just out of the blue, something angered (Tre) Holloman, and he just came with the aggressive maneuver. Yeah, now we know… next time we’ll clear the logo that covers about a third of the court and keep it rolling.”
May continues to play the oblivious card, though replays illustrated multiple Spartans requested the Wolverines at midcourt to move ahead of time. The extra angles of the replays do not quite line up with May’s assessment that Holloman was angered “out of the blue” considering the circumstances.
In a separate conversation with Outkick’s Dan Dakich, a former Big Ten assistant at Indiana, May was particularly critical at the timing and length of the procedure. May also said he’s ready for a game so that the chatter will subside, though it is May himself who continues to entertain these discussions.
“As far as the Senior Day traditions, I knew Mateen Cleaves kissed the floor. I didn’t know every senior since (had),” claimed May. “… I’ve just never seen a ceremony that was ongoing during the 40-minute game.”
Here are the two interview clips (be advised both podcasts use some NSFW language):
“Out of the blue something angered Holloman.”
Dusty May explains his side of the scuffle on @PardonMyTake pic.twitter.com/xZHI4YRuHx
— Bobby Cushing (@BCushJourn) March 12, 2025
Michigan HC Dusty May on the "logo-kiss" scuffle that happened on Senior Day against Michigan State in East Lansing.
"I've never seen a ceremony that was on-going during the 40-minute game."@dandakich pic.twitter.com/t9LKnRSROJ
— OutKick (@Outkick) March 12, 2025
For now, fans can only hope the rivalry gets another chapter during the Big Ten Tournament. Either way, it will definitely be a must-see matchup when Dusty May leads Michigan into its next game in East Lansing.