Michigan went into a three-way tie with Michigan State and Rutgers in sixth place in the Big Ten standings
Hunter Dickinson scored a career-high 33 points on a 13-for 19 shooting and captured nine rebounds as Michigan beat Michigan State 87-70 on Tuesday night.
Caleb Houston added 16 points for Michigan (16-12, 10-8 Big Ten).
The Wolverines moved up to sixth in the conference standings in a three-way tie with Michigan State and Rutgers - one game behind No. 23 Ohio State and No. 24 Iowa, which are tied for fourth. The top four seeds earn a double-by in the quarterfinals of next week's Big Ten tournament.
Houston was fouled on a 3-point shot and hit all three free throws to give Michigan the lead for good and sparked a 14-0 run when Dickinson scored about 3 1/2 minutes later and made it 23. -11 made. There were 13 minutes left in the first half. Dickinson scored six points, Diabet threw down a dunk, and Terrence Williams II's 3-pointer capped an 11-2 lead to give Wolverine an 18-point lead about a minute before the break. Michigan State lags behind the rest by double digits.
"He was special," said Michigan interim coach Phil Martelli.
Gabe Brown led Michigan State (19-10, 10-8) with 12 points and Tyson Walker scored 11.
"I'm crazy. I wanted to win as much as anyone," said Brown, who attended nearby Belleville High School. "It was a home game for me."
The Wolverines were without coach Juwan Howard, who served the third part of a five-game suspension for beating Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabenhoft after beating Michigan 77–63 on February 20.
"I know he's going a little crazy in the house," Dickinson said of Howard.
The Spartans have lost four of their last five with their only win at No. 4 Purdue, 68-65, last Saturday.
The victory over the Boilermakers propelled Michigan State coach Tom Izzo into the tie for the most wins by a Big Ten coach with at least 10 years in the conference. Former Indiana coach Bob Knight won 662 games at Bloomington (662-240, .734) in 29 years, and Izzo's career record is 662-262 (.716). Knight is the all-time leader for Big Ten Conference wins (353), with Izzo second on 321.
The Wolverines will be at home to play in Iowa on Wednesday before it ends the regular season at Ohio State on Sunday - the last for four games, against three-ranked opponents, in eight days.
"It's tough, but whatever happens at this point," Dickinson said of Michigan's program.
Michigan State plays Ohio State on Thursday before concluding Sunday's regular season at home against Maryland.