No. 8 Michigan State already secured an outright Big Ten title, but the team certainly was looking to end the regular season against archrival No. 17 Michigan with a win on Senior Day on Sunday. The Spartans left little doubt of the outcome by the midway point of the first half en route to a 79-62 victory over the Wolverines, a fourth-straight win in the rivalry and seventh-straight in the series at Breslin Center.

The win gave MSU an even bigger margin in its regular season conference championship after some counted the team out just over 3.5 weeks ago after a loss to Indiana. Instead, the Spartans finish with a three-game lead over the next closest teams in the standings, finishing the regular season with a 17-3 Big Ten record and a 26-5 mark overall.

Tre Holloman led MSU with 20 points, a new career high for the guard. Jase RIchardson added 18 and Jaden Akins scored 11 for Spartans finishing the game in double figures. Nine total players scored, missing the magic 10 mark so often hit by the team all season, but the bench scored 32 of MSU's 79 total points compared to just five for the Wolverines.

Jaxon Kohler came just short of double figures with nine points and added seven rebounds alongside a team-high two blocks. Jeremy Fears Jr. scored seven points with a team-high three steals as well. Carson Cooper led the team on the boards with eight rebounds.

Mladislav Goldin led all scorers on the day with 29 points, while Danny Wolf ended with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Michigan State forced an early timeout by Michigan after back-to-back treys from Akins gave the Spartans an early 8-3 lead just over three minutes into the game.

The pause didn't amount to much over the next stretch of game as the Spartans opened a double-digit lead by the U-12 media break, up 20-6 over the Wolverines by the 11:44 break. MSU's offense was simply too much for UM in this one, while the defense helped lead to easy scores on the other side. The Spartans finished the first half with 14 points on the fast break, and 18 total points off 14 turnovers by the Wolverines.

Michigan State did not let up on the gas pedal the whole first half, pushing the ball and scoring with ease on its rival. By the final media break, MSU led by 16 points after reaching a then game-high 18-point lead a few minutes prior thanks to a 3-pointer by Richardson.

Richardson wasn't the only highlight reel maker, though he had plenty himself. Kohler also followed up with a dunk of his own in the closing stretch of the half on an assist from Akins following a steal.

By the closing buzzer of the first half, MSU held a commanding 50-28 lead. Holloman and Richardson led MSU in scoring on the half with 11 points apiece while Goldin led all scorers on the half with 14.

The momentum stuck with the Spartans to open the second half as MSU held a 55-33 lead by the first media break with 15:57 to go in the game. Things got a little chippy early as well with Richardson drawing a defensive foul by Goldin almost two minutes into the return in action. Goldin and Fears made contact with one another after the foul as each moved toward their team groupings on the court, but Goldin forcibly shoved Fears away from him. As a result of the contact prior to the shove, and potentially words expressed by Fears in earshot of an official, each player was called for a technical foul.

Michigan State didn't let the interaction affect its play for the next stretch of action, though. The Spartans went on to build their biggest lead of the game by the 13:55 mark, holding a 25-point margin over their in-state rival with a 61-36 lead.

UM finally managed to fight back on the scoreboard after that, mounting a 14-0 run as MSU went scoreless for the next almost five minutes. The Wolverines had trimmed their deficit to just 11 by the 9:23 mark before Richardson snapped the scoring drought.

From there, UM was never able to bring the game back to single digits. However, MSU also wasn't able to push its lead out past 15 until around 2.5 minutes remained as the Wolverines traded baskets with the Spartans in an attempt to find a way to come back and play spoiler.

The closing minutes didn't end before adding yet another instant controversy for the heated rivalry. A few UM players were seemingly blocking the Spartan helmet logo at center court in what was taken to be an attempt at blocking the long-standing tradition of seniors kissing it on their way off the court for their final home game. Holloman saw this and took issue, sparking a brief exchange between teams.

The officials huddled together while Tom Izzo and Dusty May got together and seemingly helped defuse the situation with a friendly exchange on the sideline. Holloman and UM"s L.J. Cason were assessed a technical foul each and the game ended without further incident.

Michigan State will take on the winner of Game Four on Friday as the No. 1 overall seed in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Tip is set for Noon on the Big Ten Network.

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