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6 of the best villains (or heroes) from the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry

Michigan and Michigan State will lock horns for the 104th time Saturday (noon, ESPN) when the No. 11 Wolverines (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) visit the No. 23 Spartans (4-1, 1-0).

And whether you're a Michigan fan that considers this the second-most important game on the schedule, or a Michigan State backer that's always looking for a way to silence Ann Arbor, this game is rarely uninteresting.

It's severed friendships, imploded message boards, lit up radio call-in shows and produced an awful lot of villains (or heroes, depending on which side you root for).

Here are six individuals from the past two decades that proved to be more than a thorn in the side of the opposition during the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy:

updated: Michigan basketball team rallies to beat Illinois, 60-55, in Big Ten quarterfinal

Michigan's Darius Morris (4) dribbles past Illinois' Brandon Paul during the Wolverines 60-55 Big Ten quarterfinal win at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Friday.

Darrell Hoemann | for AnnArbor.com

Updated 6:47 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS —John Beilein saw his players' faces and slumped shoulders and voiced his own frustration. He told his players, who looked emotionally dead in his opinion, they were exactly that: Dead.

From the death came life. Darius Morris started clapping his hands. Players started jumping up and down. Beilein wanted his team to search for their ‘Yes’ faces — as in, yes, you can come back. And, yes, you can win.

The Michigan basketball team translated the pep talk into a come-from-behind, 60-55 win over Illinois in a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal on Friday.

The Wolverines responded with a 19-4 run, one that erased a 12-point Illinois lead, and led them to a berth in a semifinal against No. 1 Ohio State (1:40 p.m., CBS) and potentially into the NCAA tournament.

It all came from that huddle during a television timeout with 8:55 left. One that altered the rest of Michigan’s season.

“Coach looked at all of us and said ‘You’re dead. Get excited.’” Michigan redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan said. “We all got excited and changed our emotions from that point on and crawled back into the game.”

updated 6:58 p.m.: Michigan basketball team beats Michigan State, 70-63, sweeps Spartans for first time since '97

Junior guard Zack Novak celebrates with fans as he runs off the Crisler Arena court after Michigan's 70-63 victory against Michigan State.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Darius Morris couldn’t help but crack a smile through the pain.

He helped lead the Michigan basketball team to this point, to a 70-63 win over Michigan State on Saturday, to a season sweep of the Spartans. For a moment, those things made his flu-like symptoms go away.

He fought back vomiting earlier in the day. Spent a good portion of the morning on the toilet, too. But for two hours Saturday afternoon, the sophomore point guard from Los Angeles held on.

Michigan followed along.

Michigan basketball team turned around its season with a win at Michigan State

Michigan junior Stu Douglass moves the ball around Michigan State senior Kalin Lucas, sophomore Derrick Nix and freshman Keith Appling during the first half against Michigan State at the Breslin Center.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Before the Michigan basketball team played Wisconsin last week, the Wolverines sat down, as they always do, to watch film. Part of what the coaching staff showed the players that day doubled as a horror picture and comedy.

When the Wolverines saw themselves against Wisconsin in Madison on Jan. 5, they cringed at the number of mistakes they made and how they looked playing basketball.

“We looked like a completely different team,” junior guard Stu Douglass said. “It was laughable a little bit with some of the bad plays we made.”

Charges dropped against college students arrested during fake ID probe

Charges were dismissed against three college students who were arrested in February during a federal probe into fake IDs, federal court records show.

University of Michigan students Barak D. Leibovitz, 20, and Samuel D. Hamburger, 19, and Michigan State University student Zachary J. Firestone, 18, were charged in a criminal complaint with illegally possessing or transferring false identification documents.

today's college links: Michigan basketball team's game against Spartans has Big Ten title implications

Michigan State's Raymar Morgan (2) puts up a shot against Penn State's Andrew Jones (22) during the first half Thursday night.

The Associated Press

Michigan State will play one game for a share of the Big Ten championship after preserving control over its own conference destiny Thursday.

But just barely.

The No. 11 Spartans held off a late rally by Penn State, one year after losing to the Nittany Lions at Breslin Center, for a 67-65 victory.

David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press reports there was no joy in the Spartans locker room following the game.

The victory means Michigan's game against the Spartans on Sunday has Big Ten title implications, and Michigan State is asking its fans to pull out all the stops.

Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal is baffled by Michigan State's recent struggles at the Breslin Center.

After dominant performance, Michigan basketball players wonder where moxie has been all year

Michigan players, lead by Stu Douglass, walk past the Michigan fans giving them high fives prior to their final home game of the season, Tuesday night March 2nd, at Crisler Arena.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

In one second, DeShawn Sims said he didn’t wonder why Michigan could play so well against Minnesota when the Wolverines vanished in so many other games this season.

Then, just as quickly he admitted, yeah, he thought about it.

Two University of Michigan students, one Michigan State University student nabbed in federal probe into fake IDs

Two University of Michigan students and a Michigan State University student have been arrested in connection with a federal probe into fake IDs, court documents say.

The three were arrested after investigators say one of them signed for a package delivered to an Ann Arbor apartment Wednesday that contained 48 "fraudulent identification cards," a federal criminal complaint says.

MLive: Michigan State punter Aaron Bates doesn't require much coaching

Michigan State junior Aaron Bates is a self-taught punter, and that's fine with coach Mark Dantonio, reporter Steve Grinczel writes. For the complete story, click here.

Ohio State named Big Ten's top team -- Terrelle Pryor and Greg Jones players of the year

Big Ten media days haven't even started yet and already, the Players of the Year and top three teams are out.

Ohio State was voted the top team in the conference in the preseason, followed by Penn State and Michigan State.

Phil Steele says University of Michigan football team is better this year and is back in the bowl hunt

Phil Steele, who puts out one of the most consistently accurate preseason magazines annually, talked with AnnArbor.com about the Big Ten race and Michigan’s chances of a turnaround in the 2009 season.