No. 9 Michigan State came into Saturday riding a two-game losing streak in Big Ten play and looking for a win to get head coach Tom Izzo his 353rd victory in conference play. The Spartans did just that with an 86-74 win over Oregon. That 353 number ties Izzo with former Indiana head coach Bobby Knight for most-wins in league games.

The victory improves MSU to 10-2 in Big Ten games and 19-4 overall. The Spartans will have an opportunity to make Izzo the winningest coach in Big Ten play at Indiana next Tuesday, the first conference opponent Izzo ever coached against in his first season at MSU, a 65-60 victory over Knight on Jan. 4, 1996 in East Lansing.

In his first start as a Spartan due to Jeremy Fears Jr. being out sick (along with Xavier Booker out as well), Jase Richardson led all scoreres with 29 points. The freshman guard hit his career high in eight categories overall, going 9-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range. Richardson added five rebounds and a block in his 35 minutes.

Jaxon Kohler finished the game with a double-double, scoring 14 and grabbing 12 boards alongside a block. Tre Holloman led the team in helpers with seven, adding 13 points. Jaden Akins added 10 points for Spartans in double figures, while Carson Cooper came just shy with nine points alongside six boards. Coen Carr led the team in blocks with two.

Oregon's Jackson Shelstad led the Ducks with 22 points, and Kwame Evans Jr. finished with 10 for Oregon players in double figures.

The game was a back-and-forth affair to start. By the first media break, MSU had mounted a 6-0 run with three separate lead changes between the teams.

The tight game remained through to the under-12 media break, though MSU was 6-of-7 from the floor, yet led by just one point, up 19-18 with 11:48 to go until halftime. Richardson had three-straight scores for MSU after a trey by Kohler.

Overall for the freshman, a trey by Richardson was followed by a second-straight trey before closing it out with a jumper for eight of MSU's points 12 points during that span, Richardson's run only snapped by Carr who hit a hook shot to end the streak.

The Ducks started to pull away in the next stretch as the Spartans headed into the under-eight media timeout on a 2.5 minute scoring drought. While Oregon was up 24-21, the break saw officials review the final play and upgrade a foul against UO's Tj Bamba to a flagrant one on a shotting foul against Cooper that gave the MSU big a nosebleed.

The fouls called against both teams started to really slow the pace of the game to Michigan State's detriment. The teams combined for 18 total fouls at the half. An inability to push the pace combined with an alternating zone and man defense by Oregon also confused and hurt the Spartans' offense.

The combination led the Ducks to a 10-point lead at the final media break following a 6-0 run by the visitors. A wide-open 3-pointer by Shelstad forced Izzo to call the timeout that resulted in the break with 3:29 left. The Ducks led 40-30 thanks to the run.

Oregon ended the half with 50 points, the most given up by an MSU team since 2018.

The Spartans gave up 21 points off 12 turnovers in the first half while the Ducks were also 10-for-19 from 3-point range on the half.

After a ceremony at halftime honoring the 2000 national title team for the Spartans, a locker room speech by somebody must have flipped a switch because MSU opened with an 8-0 run, going 3-for-3 on FGAs to resume play.

The hot start didn't fizzle after a quick timeout at the 17:48 mark by Oregon as Michigan State cut its 14-point halftime deficit to just two before the Ducks finally scored.

The Spartans headed into the U-16 media break 5-for-6 on FGAs and 6-of-8 overall to start the half. Even better, the Spartans were 2-for-2 on 3P-FGAs.

The media break seems to calm the Ducks' feathers somewhat over the next stretch, if only briefly. Oregon started to build back out its lead to as much as nine, primarily coming on free throw attempts that included a technical against Izzo for throwing his white board (notably not a chair like Knight was famous for). The Ducks made it 62-53 by the 13:11 mark.

A constant back and forth of opposing runs continued as the theme of the afternoon as the Spartans responded to the Big Ten newcomer's run with an 8-0 run of their own, hitting 3-for-3 from the field and 6-of-last-8 overall. A stingy MSU defense also held the Ducks scoreless for over three minutes as the teams headed into the U-12 media timeout with Oregon up just 62-61 with 11:50 left in the game.

Coming out of the break, the Spartans seized the lead back for the first time since just over nine minutes left in the first half and kept it for good after a short answer from the Ducks to tie it up thanks to a 9-1 run. The Ducks would fall behind permanently at the 9:23 mark after a layup by Akins.

MSU had several highlight plays down the stretch, including a Richardson block.

The Spartans finished strong, pushing their lead out to double digits three times to finish the game with the final 12-point margin and show they continue to be a team to count out at your own risk despite the two-game setback in their Los Angeles swing.

Tip is set for 9 p.m. in Blooming on Tuesday for MSU's next game. The broadcast will be exclusive to Peacock.

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