(Photo Credit: MSU Athletics)
A clash between two in-state rivals occured in E. Lansing as the Michigan State Spartans hosted the Michigan Wolverines at the Breslin Center in the first of two meetings this year. Neither team is having a great year as both are under .500 in the conference but a win in this rivalry game means a great deal to the players and fans of both schools.
In the rivalry, the home team has won the game each time going back to 2018, but the Wolverines, who scored first and went up by seven points after the first six minutes, were looking to end that streak. Michigan was hot in the first half shooting 75% from the floor over the first 12 minutes of the game. It seemed everything was going in for the Maize and Blue, as they even got an unexpected three point basket to go in by the 6’10” Tarris Reed Jr. as the shot clock expired during one play.
Michigan continued to play strong through the end of the first half despite MSU keeping it close and pulling to within two points at the break. Both teams shot incredibly well during the first 20 minutes of play. Michigan was 14-23 (61%) from the field and 5-9 (56%) from three point range. MSU was not too far off that shooting 13-26 (50%) and 5-10 (50%) from behind the arc. Michigan’s Jaylin Llewellyn led all players at halftime with 12 points. Jaden Aikins led the Spartans with 11 points.
It was MSU that came out with the energy and momentum in the second half. The Spartans took the lead from the Wolverines within the first three minutes and never trailed again. Behind an 11-4 run by Michigan State, the crowd at Breslin roared and was on its feet, forcing Michigan to take an early second half timeout. However the Wolverines couldn’t come up with any stops as the momentum continued in favor of the Spartans going up 15 and eventually as many as 20 points in the game.
When the final buzzer sounded, it was Tom Izzo’s team earning him his 700th career win. He became the 11th coach in NCAA history to achieve that mark and he did it on his 69th birthday of all days, and against the team’s rival.
Izzo wasn’t the only person with career bests from the game. Aikins made a career high seven 3-pointers shooting a remarkable 70% from behind the arc to finish with his all time high of 23 points. And MSU Guard A.J. Hoggard became the 56th player in Spartan history to score over 1,000 points for his career in the game. All of this was done in front of Spartan greats Mateen Cleaves and Steve Smith who were both in attendance.
Aikins led all players in the game with his 23 points. MSU also had three others in double figures (Hoggard -15, Tyson Walker -12, and Malik Hall -12). Michigan, who was playing without their leading scorer Dug McDaniel who is serving an academic suspension, had just two players score in double figures. Starting in place of McDaniel, Jaelin Llewellyn scored 18 points while Terrance Williams II added 14 points. Despite the loss, the Wolverines out rebounded the Spartans 29-23 in the contest.
Michigan falls to 7-14 overall (last in the B1G) and will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-9) in Ann Arbor on Saturday. The win puts MSU at 13-8 overall and they will host the Maryland Terrapins (13-8) on Saturday at home.
Final Score: MSU 81 – Michigan 62
About Post Author
