Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo entered Tuesday night's game versus Michigan with 699 wins, and victory No. 700 could not have come against a better opponent.
On his 69th birthday, Izzo becomes the 10th coach in NCAA men's basketball history to have 700 wins with one school.
The Spartan defeated the Wolverines by a final score of 81-62.
This was a must-win for the Spartans, against a Michigan team that did not have its leading scorer in Dug McDaniel, who is suspended for road games due to academic issues
The Breslin Center crowd knew how special tonight was with a win and the Spartans delivered yet again on their home court.
The first five minutes saw the Spartans start off even with the Wolverines at eight points apiece. Michigan forced MSU to commit multiple turnovers in the first six minutes and take contested shots that were unable to be made.
A 10-1 run for Michigan gave the Wolverines a 18-9 lead with Jaelin Llewellyn scoring six early points. UM shot 70% from the field for the first nine minutes of the game.
Michigan State would counter with hustle on both sides of the ball, including forcing an offensive foul and multiple turnovers for UM to cut the lead back to 20-16 after a Tyson Walker basket at 8:47 in the first half.
Izzo was critical of the team after the Wisconsin game in losing the battle on the rebounding and through the first half that narrative held the same. The Wolverines out-rebounded Michigan State 14 to 10 after the first 20 minutes of play.
Even without McDaniel, Michigan came to play in the first half. Holding the lead for the majority of the first half behind shooting 61% from the field.
With 5:49 remaining in the first half, Coen Carr's massive block on Olivier Nkamhoua snapped a streak of a eight consecutive made baskets for Michigan.
Michigan State closed the deficit to two points going into half. The Wolverines led the Spartans 35-33 at the break. Jaden Akins lead the Spartans with 11 points in the first half.
The second half started with a couple of great defensive stops for the Spartans, including a Walker steal, a stop and an Akins 3-pointer to take a 44-39 lead.
Michigan's offensive efficiency cooled off in the beginning of the second half, with Michigan State going on a 12-0 run and the Spartans extending their lead to 49-39.
Akins' shooting ability on Tuesday night was unmatched, finishing with a career-high 23 points, including seven triples, also his career-high.
Walker converted a free throw after the foul to extend the Spartan lead to 61-46 with 10:44 left to play and they did not look back after this.
Michigan State continued to get critical baskets from Carson Cooper, Tre Holloman and Akins to keep a 68-53 lead with 6:22 to go in the second half.
The Spartans continued to play tough down the stretch, forcing turnovers and ultimately ended up winning by the aforementioned final score 81-62.
A.J. Hoggard became the 56th player in Michigan State men's basketball history to score 1,000 points or more with his basket in the final minute of Tuesday's game.
The Spartans, although not getting off to the best start, found their groove in the second half, outscoring Michigan by 21 points and getting Coach Izzo win No. 700. It is a moment that the MSU faithful will not forget.
Michigan State improves to 13-8 and 5-5 in the Big Ten. Once upon a time a 4-5 team, the Spartans have now have won nine of their last 12 games and sit tied for fifth in the conference.
Michigan State's next contest will be against Maryland on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on FOX. Meanwhile, Michigan falls to a 7-14 overall record, including a 2-8 record in the conference.
Tuesday night was a testament for MSU to stay to its game plan and continue to be aggressive and force Michigan to take tough shots, while taking advantage of turnovers and scoring on the fast break.
Michigan State's leading scorers included Akins with 23 points, Hoggard with 15 points, Walker with 12 points and Malik Hall with 12 points.
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