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.
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.
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.
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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