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Published Jan 28, 2025
Michigan State men's basketball suffocates Minnesota in 73-51 victory
Jonah Wilson  â€¢  Spartans Illustrated
Staff Writer/Podcast Host

In a rematch from December that saw Michigan State dismantle Minnesota at the Barn, more of the same was in order on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center in the rematch from a rare two-play matchup. The Spartans came away with a 73-51 victory.

MSU now sits at 18-2 overall and 9-0 in Big Ten. The Spartans have navigated two straight months without a loss and have placed themselves firmly in the driver's seat for a Big Ten Championship.

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Throughout the night, suffocating defense and timely shooting overwhelmed the Gophers. From the opening tip, MSU defenders were flying all over the court, making life excruciating for the Gophers. The Spartans held Minnesota without a point until the 14:10 mark in the first half.

On the offensive side of the ball, life wasn't so easy as MSU started 3-for-13 from the field thanks to sloppy play and turnovers. However, strong offensive rebounding from Szymon Zapala and Xavier Booker allowed Michigan State to build an 11-3 lead halfway through the first.

Jaxon Kohler sparked the offense early, hitting two triples and coming off a two-point outing against Rutgers on Saturday. Despite the slow start from the rest of the offense, the Spartans' defense continued to dominate as MSU extended its lead to 21-8.

The other end of the court finally came alive in the last five minutes of the half thanks to three treys from Tre Holloman in just 53 seconds that erupted the Breslin Center crowd. Jase Richardson also got going as the Spartans ended the half on a 13-4 run to lead 36-16.

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The teams began to exchange buckets to start the second half as the pace began to quicken and both offenses started to find a rhythm. The Spartans' continued to keep their lead around 20, never allowing the Gophers to gain momentum.

As is typically the case, Michigan State scoring was done by committee as nine Spartans were in the scoring column halfway through the second half. The MSU mantra of "Strength in Numbers" continued to be the identity of a team Tuesday night that has been the conferences' best so far on the year.

Dawson Garcia, the league's third leading scorer, tried his best to keep the Gophers in it. Garcia helped cut it to 52-38 with eight-minutes remaining in the game to try and mount a run for his team. He finished the night with 21 total and was Minnesota's only consistent offensive presence.

Holding onto a 13-point lead with seven minutes left in the game, the Spartans kicked off an 8-0 run, sparked by a Jaden Akins 3-pointer and bookended with a thunderous Coen Carr and-1 alley-oop ballooned the lead to 64-43, effectively putting this one out of reach for good.

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In a stretch of seasons where Michigan State hasn't lived up to its' programs expectations, the Spartans have gotten back to their roots of "defend, rebound, and run."

MSU held UM to just 41% shooting from the field, won the rebounding battle 40-22 (13 offensive), and scored 17 fast break points. Holloman led all Spartans in scoring with 12 points, all in the first half.

The Gophers now fall to 11-10 on the season, 3-7 in Big Ten Play. This is coming after winning three straight, including wins over ranked Oregon and Michigan teams and a fan storming of the court after the Ducks victory.

The Spartans will look to go 10-0 in Big Ten play as they travel to the west coast to face the two new Los Angeles based league members. MSU plays at USC on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time exclusively on Peacock before taking on UCLA next Tuesday night, also exclusive to Peacock at 10 p.m. Eastern Time. In addition to a perfect league record, MSU long-time head coach Tom Izzo will look to tie Bobby Knight in all time Big Ten wins at 353 with a win in either game and break the record with victories in both matchups.

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Michigan State Men's Basketball 2024-2025 Schedule
+State Farm Champions Classic, *Maui Jim Maui Invitational
DateOpponentLocationTime (ET)/TVResults

Sun. Oct. 13

at Northern MI (Exh)

Marquette, MI

1 pm/BTN

70-53, MSU

Tue. Oct. 29

Ferris State (Exh)

East Lansing, MI

7 pm/B1G+

85-67, MSU

Mon. Nov. 4

Monmouth

East Lansing, MI

7 pm/B1G+

81-57, MSU,
1-0

Thur. Nov. 7

Niagara

East Lansing, MI

8 pm/BTN

96-60, MSU, 2-0

Tue. Nov. 12

vs. Kansas+

Atlanta, GA

6:30 pm/ ESPN

69-77, KU, 2-1

Sat. Nov. 16

Bowling Green

East Lansing, MI

6 pm/BTN

86-72, MSU, 3-1

Tue. Nov. 19

Samford

East Lansing, MI

8 pm/ Peacock

83-75, MSU, 4-1

Tue. Nov. 25

vs. Colorado*

Lahaina, Maui, HI

5 pm/ ESPN2

72-56, MSU, 5-1

Wed. Nov. 26

vs. Memphis

Lahaina, Maui, HI

6 pm/ ESPN

71-63, MEM, 5-2

Thur. Nov. 27

vs. UNC

Lahaina, Maui, HI

9:30 pm/ ESPN 2

94-1, MSU, 6-2

Wed. Dec. 4

at Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

8:30 pm/ BTN

90-72, MSU,
7-2 (1-0)

Thur. Dec. 7

Nebraska

East Lansing, MI

Noon/BTN

89-52, MSU 8-2 (2-0)

Tue. Dec. 17

vs. Oakland

Detroit, MI

7 pm/ ESPN2

77-58, MSU
9-2 (2-0)

Sat. Dec. 21

Florida Atlantic

East Lansing, MI

2 pm/FS1

83-68, MSU
10-2 (2-0)

Mon. Dec. 30

Western Michigan

East Lansing, MI

3 pm/BTN

80-62, MSU
11-2 (2-0)

Fri. Jan. 3

at Ohio State

Columbus, OH

8 pm/FOX

69-62, MSU
12-2 (3-0)

Thur. Jan. 9

Washington

East Lansing, MI

8 pm/BTN

88-54, MSU
13-2 (4-0)

Sun. Jan. 12

at Northwestern

Evanston, IL

Noon/4:30 pm
FOX

78-68, MSU
14-2 (5-0)

Wed. Jan. 15

Penn State

East Lansing, MI

7:30 pm /BTN

90-85, MSU
15-2 (6-0)

Sun. Jan. 19

Illinois

East Lansing, MI

Noon/CBS

80-78, MSU
16-2 (7-0)

Sat. Jan. 25

at Rutgers

New York, NY

1:30 pm /CBS

81-74, MSU
17-2 (8-0)

Tue. Jan. 28

Minnesota

East Lansing, MI

8 pm/ Peacock

73-51, MSU
18-2 (9-0)

Sat. Feb. 1

at USC

Los Angeles, CA

4:30 pm/ Peacock

Tue. Feb. 4

at UCLA

Los Angeles, CA

10 pm/ Peacock

Sat. Feb. 8

Oregon

East Lansing, MI

Noon/FOX

Tue. Feb. 11

Indiana

East Lansing, MI

9 pm/ Peacock

Sat. Feb. 15

at Illinois

Champaign, IL

8 pm/FOX

Tue. Feb. 18

Purdue

East Lansing, MI

7 pm/ Peacock

Fri. Feb. 21

at Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

8 pm/FOX

Wed. Feb. 26

at Maryland

College Park, MD

6:30 pm/BTN

Sun. March 2

Wisconsin

East Lansing, MI

1:30 pm/CBS

Thu. March 6

at Iowa

Iowa City, IA

8 pm/FS1

Sun. March 9

Michigan

East Lansing, MI

Noon/CBS

March 12-16

Big Ten Tournament

Indianapolis, IN

Varies by day

MichiganState
FOOTBALL
Scores / Schedule
footballfootball
21 - 5
Overall Record
12 - 3
Conference Record
Finished
Michigan St.
75
Arrow
Michigan St.
Purdue
66
Purdue
Illinois
65
Illinois
Michigan St.
79
Arrow
Michigan St.
Michigan St.
67
Michigan St.
Indiana
71
Arrow
Indiana
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