Dusty May did not have a great Sunday, to say the least.

The head coach at Michigan watched as his Wolverines fell to rival Michigan State, 79-62, to wrap up an abysmal stretch to end the regular season. That loss makes May 0-2 to begin his tenure against Tom Izzo and the in-state rivals and 2-4 to end the year since signing his contract extension in Ann Arbor.

Sunday’s game was also marked by a scuffle at the end of the game between Michigan State’s Tre Holloman and Michigan’s Phat Phat Brooks and LJ Colson. The scuffle centered around that Wolverine duo standing on the midcourt Spartan logo while MSU’s seniors were being subbed out.

A longstanding tradition in East Lansing involves all seniors kissing the midcourt logo at the conclusion of their final home game, and Holloman took exception that the Wolverine players would not move. After the game, Tom Izzo defended Holloman for standing up for the tradition and was emphatic that “nobody is changing” MSU’s tradition.

However, May was asked about the situation after the game, and the head coach was in a sarcastic mood when it came to his response.

“I didn’t know there was a tradition where they’re shooting a free throw and we have guys standing at halfcourt that there’s not a tradition we can’t stand on halfcourt as the game goes on. I’m not familiar with that one,” cracked May. “Is that a tradition?”

May went on to say he has “no problem with that” in regard to the tradition itself but made sure to highlight the lengthiness of the procedure. He also described the situation as one where the Spartans secured the chance “to rub our noses in it.”

“No problem with that. Obviously, it takes longer than any F2 timeout monitor review, it took a while, but we’re fine with that,” May claimed. “They’ve earned the right for that. The seniors have poured their hearts out. As far as whatever happened, are we not allowed to stand at halfcourt while they shoot a free throw? … He walked up and — look, they earned their right to rub our noses in it.”

While this is May’s first season in Ann Arbor, it’s hard to believe the head coach when he says the Wolverines had no concept of the tradition at all. Then again, it’s possible he’s telling the truth because it is not a situation of the Spartans attempting to rub anything in, and different angles of the incident show the Spartans requesting the Michigan players to move off the logo before Holloman steps in.

Even if the Wolverines were to play the oblivious card, it sure appears that the Spartan players asked the two Wolverines to move off the logo for the tradition. And if that is the case, it would be interesting to hear why those players were unwilling to oblige given the circumstances.

Either way, fans will have to wait and see if we get a 3rd meeting between the rivals in the Big Ten Tournament. We’ll see how that shakes out, but use the Michigan online sports betting links and apps to track the odds all postseason.