ANN ARBOR >> Nimari Burnett was among the many who tuned into Thursday night’s game between Michigan State and Iowa and had rooting interest for obvious reasons.

A Hawkeyes victory would’ve prevented the Spartans from clinching the outright Big Ten title and given Burnett and the Wolverines a chance to grab a share of the conference crown in Sunday’s rivalry rematch in East Lansing.

That looked like a possibility. Iowa led by as much as 14 in the first half, was up seven at halftime and took a 10-point lead with 12:13 to play.

“I was feeling good about that first half, like, ‘OK, Iowa is giving us a chance. Here we go,’” Burnett said Friday.

That was until the Spartans “do what they always do,” as assistant coach Kyle Church put it. They got out in transition. They got to the free-throw line. They stormed back with a 19-2 run and rode a 61-point second half past Iowa, all while dashing Michigan’s banner dreams in the process.

“It definitely hurt,” said Burnett, who noted the team braced for the letdown after Wednesday’s loss to Maryland meant it no longer controlled its own destiny.

“Seeing them play against Iowa is film for us going into the next one, and that’s what we’ve got to be focused on is the next game at hand. How can we prepare for that, no matter where it is, what’s the stakes.”

Round 2 with Michigan State still carries weight, especially to Burnett. Before the two rivals squared off last month, Burnett said he and other returning players had scores and photos from being swept by the Spartans last season posted in their locker room lockers as a reminder and as a source of motivation.

Burnett has all the games against teams it didn’t beat last season marked on his calendar, and the Michigan State losses are among the ones he said “definitely stick with me.” Coupled with dropping Round 1 at Crisler Center, it’s important for Burnett to cross Michigan State off his list.

“You get up for the moment whenever you go into any team’s home, but especially their home,” he said. “I’m very excited to take away some of their joy, even though it won’t hurt as bad for them if they lose.

“It’ll feel really good to beat them at their place with their fans ready to go.”

With the regular-season title out of reach, Church said the Wolverines, in a sense, have “got nothing to lose” on Sunday. The same applies to the Spartans. Both teams have secured double-byes in next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Both are locks to make the NCAA Tournament.

While the matchup is still a resume-builder and will have seeding implications for the postseason, Church said it should allow the Wolverines to “play free.”

“The last two months, every game has been huge, fighting for a conference championship,” Church said. “And credit to our guys, they put us in this situation. They gave us these opportunities to be playing big games in March. This is really the first time in a long time where you feel like, let’s just go and play basketball. We don’t have to be tense about anything.

“Going up there and playing in an awesome environment with more or less nothing to lose, hopefully we can get a little confidence back.”

The Wolverines could certainly use it. They’ve lost three of their last five games — all at home — and were a Burnett buzzer-beater away from it being four losses in that span. They haven’t been shooting the ball as well as they were earlier in the season, particularly from 3-point range, to make up for their glaring turnover issues. Teams have punished them for their mistakes. The margin for error has been thin.

Perhaps by not having the pressure and stress of a title chase on their minds, they can refocus and find their form again.

“I think we’ve been playing for the Big Ten title for so long, instead of just playing for us,” Burnett said. “It definitely sucks, because that was one of our goals coming into the season. But it gives us a chance to rewrite the slate, focus on us internally, and go out there and play the best brand of basketball that we are capable of playing.”

Burnett added that every team hits a rough patch due to the mental and physical grind of a season. Michigan just happens to be slumping at the time of the year when teams want to be peaking and playing at their best.

Church pointed to Michigan State as an example of how quickly things can turn. The Spartans dipped and lost three of four before they won six straight — including four in a row against ranked opponents — to claim the conference title.

Even though the Wolverines fell short in their title pursuit, they still have a lot to play for. There’s a chance to win a conference tournament title. There’s a shot to make a run in March Madness. But first, there’s an opportunity to spoil a rival’s home finale and build some momentum heading into the postseason.

“We’re confident that we can do really good things this season,” Burnett said. “When you lose games, you start to think the worst sometimes. Me, personally, I took a step back and was like, ‘Man, we were eight and whatever at this point last year. Let’s be grateful for this moment.’

“We know how good this team is … and how we can still do something special.”