It wasn’t pretty for the most part, but Michigan State was able to take control late Saturday night in Ann Arbor and sweep the season series with the Wolverines for the first time in half a decade.

“Sometimes you gotta grind it out,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said following the 73-63 victory over their in-state rivals Saturday night. “I challenged those guys in some of those huddles late. Starting to get a little leadership in there and that’s encouraging to me.”

Izzo went on to say that they don’t have the “maturity and consistency” yet to build on the leads they often will have in games.

For those in attendance - and for the national audience watching on FOX - it barely seemed like an away game for the Spartans, who were backed by a large portion of the arena dressed in green to support a team who, going into last night, had no rostered players with a win at the Crisler Center.

It also marked the first regular season sweep of the Wolverines for the Spartans since 2019.

“We did what we had to do; I want to thank all of our fans that came down, but it’s not easy to win on your rival's court,” Izzo said. “The seniors talked about (getting their first win in Ann Arbor). Part of what I talked about is having a memory-making night.”

While it was a true team effort in the end, the win was shouldered by the play of Tyson Walker and Malik Hall; the graduate seniors combined for 37 of the teams 73 points and were the only Spartans that were able to find a rhythm in the game with many key players getting into foul trouble early on.

Hall, in particular, has found a stride in the last stretch of games that has propelled the team to look more like what they were projected to be pre-season.

“He’s become a complete player,” Izzo said when asked about Hall's performance. “Malik Hall has been not only as steady as you can be, but he had to do a hell of a job defensively.”

Hall held Michigan's Olivier Nkamhoua to just 11 points, and also helped force eight turnovers.

The game ended on an unorthodox note, as the Spartans held Michigan scoreless for the last seven minutes of the game, while also not making a field goal themselves for the final 3:38. The defense down the stretch of the game was the difference when it was tied at 63.

Izzo didn't remember a time where his team held an opponent scoreless to end a game for that long of a stretch.

“It was really good defense … it just goes to show how important the defense is, because it led to the offense,” he said.

Michigan State forced 22 turnovers total in the game.

Another catalyst for the victory came from the Spartans’ bench, who stepped up when forced to play more time than anticipated. MSU outscored Michigan in bench points 23-2 and sustained a high level of play with starters getting into foul trouble early on.

“I made a concerted effort pre-game that our bench has to bring more energy and be more valuable,” Izzo said postgame. “Coen Carr brought a lot of value. Tre brought a lot of value. (Carson) Cooper was pretty good.”

Izzo went on to say he thought the big dunks by Carr in the first half “energized” the team and were worth more than the two points they counted for on the scoreboard.

Michigan State sits at 17-9 overall, and is now tied with Wisconsin at third place in the Big Ten at 9-6. They’ve also won five of the last six games and eight of the last ten to put them in a firm position to make their 25th straight NCAA tournament appearance.

“We’re not a perfect team, although I haven't seen many that are right now,” Izzo said.

The Spartans will try and go for four in a row back home on Tuesday vs. Iowa, but Izzo isn’t looking ahead - at least for tonight.

“I am not going to talk about Iowa now," he said. "I’m going to enjoy one hour of a bus ride (celebrating this win)."

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