Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from win at Michigan

On Saturday night, Michigan State basketball beat Michigan for the second time this season. What did we learn?

Michigan State basketball was back in action on Saturday, facing off against in-state rival Michigan. For the Spartans, this was their second matchup against the Wolverines, the second road game of the week, and their second chance to establish a road winning streak this season. See a pattern of twos? Naturally, this was also the first game for the Spartans since No. 2, Tyson Walker, lost his double-digit scoring streak.

The Wolverines (8-18) entered the game at a disadvantage, with third-leading scorer Terrance Williams II out. He put up 14 points against the Spartans in last month’s matchup at the Breslin Center.

This game was back-and-forth for a while, but the good guys eventually pulled away. It was not the dominant victory we saw last month, but the Spartans did cover and won by double digits. That said, what can be taken away from Saturday’s 73-63 win?

1. This game started very similarly to the last meeting

In yet another repeat of Michigan State basketball against Michigan, the Spartans started the game by trading points with the Wolverines. A few bad plays against Jaelin Llewellyn had the Spartans on the back foot early. Fortunately, three quick turnovers by the Wolverines put Michigan State within two at the under-16, despite not having a single rebound. We then saw a few minutes of bad basketball, as the Wolverines and Spartans went on a 2.5-minute scoring drought around the under-12.

The teams figured it out for the next few minutes, and MSU pulled into the lead. A Will Tschetter flagrant foul gave the Spartans extra points and another possession, and the Spartans turned that into a three-point lead at the under-8. If it were not for a Dug McDaniel three when Tyson Walker was draped in coverage against the guard, this could’ve gone ugly fast. It started getting ugly, with the Spartans pulling to a nine-point advantage. However, McDaniel went on a seven-point solo run. Then, a Llewellyn triple gave the Wolverines the lead again.

MSU found an unlikely hero pairing to end the half, with Coen Carr having eight at the break. As for the second part of the pairing, Tom Izzo sent in senior Davis Smith to end the half with Jaden Akins and AJ Hoggard at two fouls. Davis Smith rallied a loose ball following a Carr steal and was fouled by McDaniel with 0.4 seconds left. After review, he was sent to the line and gave the Spartans a two-point lead to end the half.

The second half saw the Spartans and Wolverines trade the lead quite a few times, but the Spartans prevailed by not allowing a Wolverine point in the final seven minutes. That final half was not the same script as January, but the first half certainly was eerily similar.

2. Both teams were sloppy, to say the least

This game started with Michigan being loose with the ball. By the under-16, AJ Hoggard, Jaden Akins, and Tyson Walker all had a steal. However, after this fast start creating turnovers, the Spartans themselves got sloppy. Malik Hall, just a game removed from a 29-point performance, had eight points and three turnovers in the first half. Thankfully, the Spartans had more steals (9) than turnovers (7) in the first half. They cleaned up towards the end, but their middle sloppiness let Michigan back in from a nine-point deficit.

Out of the half, Malik Hall added another turnover to his night, and the Spartans squandered their lead to a three-point deficit into the first media timeout. After a Cooper foul gave Michigan the ball back, Michigan had their turnover on a travel.

The Spartans would clean up their act, finishing with 10 turnovers, right around their season average of 9.9. Malik Hall came alive down the stretch, with his previously mentioned fourth turnover being his one blemish in the second half. He had a crucial rebound after AJ Hoggard missed two free throws. That rebound put Hall on the line and sent any remaining Wolverine fans to the exits. He finished the night with 18 points, right behind Tyson Walker’s 19.

For the Wolverines, however, it was a different story. After their nine first-half turnovers, Michigan managed to do worse in the second half. It had 13 turnovers in the second half. Travels, passes to players in green, passes out of bounds, the wheels fell off the bus for the Wolverines. Olivier Nkamhoua had eight turnovers for the Wolverines. The starting guards of Llewellyn and McDaniel also added a combined eight turnovers, and the Spartans capitalized.

Michigan State basketball ended with 15 steals, with the guard trio of Walker, Hoggard, and Akins adding three each. Despite their own 10 turnovers, Michigan State won the battle of points off turnovers, 27-11.

3. This was Michigan State at its finest, on defense

Saturday’s game was the epitome of Michigan State basketball this season: frustratingly close, where you have no idea how good or bad this team may be. In the end, however, Michigan State was back, at least on defense.

For the final 7:01, the Wolverines did not score a single point. No amount of media timeouts and Juwan Howard timeouts could aid Michigan in breaking the Spartan stranglehold on defense. In the locker room after the game, Carson Cooper was shocked the Wolverines went the final seven minutes without scoring. He credited the defense, saying “We were gonna make things tough, and that’s what we did. Forced a couple of turnovers, bad shots, got rebounds.”

Tom Izzo was also very complimentary of the defense, saying that they did all they were asked. The defense missed two of its better players, Hoggard and Akins, for much of the first half. When lamenting some of his team’s woes, such as a horrendous night beyond the arc, Izzo was asked on the defense. His immediate action was to defend how this team defended, and it is clear to see why. The Spartans held the Wolverines to just over one point scored per turnover, two bench points, two fast break points, and under 0.9 points per possession.

It is a short turnaround for the Spartans, as they have the hour drive home and then play the Iowa Hawkeyes at home Tuesday night.

As for that hour drive home, Izzo said “I’m gonna enjoy the one-hour bus ride, I’m going to take the George Perles rule. Maybe not the full day, but the next hour and a half.”