Michigan State basketball: Michigan win was one of best nights in recent history

Michigan State basketball was able to take down Michigan on Tuesday night and it was one of the better moments in recent memory.

What a night Tuesday night was. The first half may have been a little sketchy, but Michigan State basketball pulled through in the second half en route to an 81-62 victory over Michigan.

Typically there are a couple positive storylines after every MSU game, especially when the Spartans win. This game, however, had an abnormally large amount of exciting things happen. Especially for a program that hasn’t been at their best in recent years, Tuesday night surely was a good night to just sit back and enjoy this team.

Let’s take a look at all the positives that came from MSU’s big win over Michigan that made this one of the best nights in recent program history.

1. Tom Izzo’s 700th win

The most obvious and biggest headline of the night was Izzo earning his 700th career win. Izzo is the first Big Ten coach to achieve this at the same school, which really shows just how amazing this accomplishment is.

When you add this achievement to all of his other accomplishments, it really puts into perspective how great he is. A national championship, eight Final Fours, 10 Big Ten titles, and 25 straight NCAA tournament appearances combined with this is simply remarkable. Michigan State is very lucky to have Izzo as its coach.

2. Rivalry win

Now I know this isn’t the greatest win over Michigan in history, but any win over the Wolverines is cause for celebration. Especially considering how MSU beat them by 19 points, it just makes last night that much better.

Think for one second how bad it would’ve been if MSU had lost. Michigan State’s tournament streak would have been in big trouble as the season would’ve hit an all-time low. Thankfully that didn’t happen and we get to celebrate another win over our biggest rival.

3. AJ Hoggard reached 1,000 career points

Now this was an accomplishment I didn’t expect to see happen in this game. AJ Hoggard needed just 15 more points to reach 1,000 for his career, and he did exactly that. Now I know AJ is more than capable of scoring this much in any game, but it’s more likely for him to finish with less than that.

But Hoggard did what he needed to do, especially in the second half, to help lead the Spartans to a victory. Maybe this accomplishment and Izzo’s would’ve been better if they happened on different nights. But I prefer it this way because it makes this night that much better for everyone.

4. Jaden Akins career-high

Jaden Akins also had a monster game for the Spartans. He finished with a career-high 23 points as well as three rebounds, assists, and steals. Not only did he have a great game statistically, but Akins kept MSU in the game throughout their first half struggles.

Michigan was on fire in the first half, but it was Jaden hitting multiple shots that kept the game close. Akins gave the rest of the team just enough time to get going which then led to the dominant second-half performance.

5. Izzo’s birthday

And the icing on the cake that was Tuesday’s 19-point win is that it occurred on Tom Izzo’s 69th birthday. Each of the above accomplishments is great on their own. Put them all together in one night and that makes for an amazing evening of basketball. But add in the fact that it was Izzo’s birthday? That makes for one of the best nights in recent Michigan State basketball history.