#9 Michigan State 70-52 Win Over Minnesota Official Game Thread
The Barn
Minneapolis, MN
The #9 Michigan State Spartans got back in action against the Indiana Hoosiers and despite being down 15 at one point, came up short 67-63. The loss drops the men in green’s season record to 14-5 (6-2).
The team returns to the hard-court today here in Minneapolis, Minnesota taking on the Gophers. That game can be seen on FOX at 3:00 PM ET.
Here are five quick takes about the game from MSU super SID Mex Carey:
1. Series History Thursday’s game will be the 133rd meeting all-time between Michigan State and Minnesota ... Michigan State leads the all-time series with Minnesota, 72- 60 ... The Spartans won the first meeting this season between the teams, 74-58, at the Breslin Center on Jan. 9 ... MSU is 26-36 all-time in Minneapolis ... Michigan State has won the last four games between the teams and seven of the last eight overall ... MSU has won the last three games played at Minnesota ... Minnesota’s last win at home was a 76-63 decision on Dec. 31, 2012.
2. Last Meeting with Minnesota Senior guard Cassius Winston scored nine of his game-high 27 points in the final three minutes as then-No. 8 Michigan State used a late run to pull away from Minnesota for a 74-58 win at the Breslin Center on Jan. 9 ... Junior forward Xavier Tillman had his second-straight double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds ... Sophomore forward Aaron Henry added seven points and seven assists, while sophomore forward Gabe Brown added nine points and five rebounds.
3. About the Spartans Senior guard Cassius Winston leads MSU, and ranks third in the Big Ten, in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game … Winston is also fourth in the league in assists, averaging 6.0 per game, second in free throw percentage, connecting on 85.2 percent of his shots (69-of-81), 13th in field goal percentage (42.4%) and sixth in 3-point percentage (36.3%) ... Junior forward Xavier Tillman is second on the team with 13.7 points per game (13th in the Big Ten) and tops the team, and is third in the Big Ten, with 10.0 rebounds per game, while adding 3.1 assists (tied for 11th in the Big Ten) per game and 2.1 blocks per game (sixth in the Big Ten) ... Tillman is the only player in the league in the top-15 in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks ... Sophomore forward Aaron Henry is third on the team with 9.9 points per game, while adding 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists ... MSU has four other players averaging at least 4.0 points per game, led by sophomore forward Gabe Brown, who is averaging 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds ... Freshman guard Rocket Watts adds 6.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists ...Sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr., who has started the last 14 games and collected career high’s in rebounds (12) and blocks (5) against Illinois on Jan. 2, is averaging 4.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks ... Freshman forward Malik Hall is averaging 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds
4. Winston Selected as Candidate for Senior CLASS Award Cassius Winston has been named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award. Winston is one of 30 players considered for the annual award ... To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition ... An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
5. Winston Breaks Michigan State and Big Ten All-Time Record for Career Assists Senior guard Cassius Winston handed out four assists in the win over Wisconsin on Jan. 17 and became the all-time leader in assists at Michigan State and in the Big Ten Conference ... Winston’s 817 career assists (he now has 822) broke the career record – and Big Ten mark – of 816, held for 20 years by former Spartan Mateen Cleaves ... Winston, who has scored 1,735 career points and ranks among the top-10 all-time in scoring at MSU, is the first player in Big Ten history to score at least 1,600 points and hand out at least 800 assists.
Make sure you follow along by refreshing this story for constant updates and highlights and comment with Spartan fans in the comment section below.
UPDATE: New starting lineup: Cassius Winston, Malik Hall, Rocket Watts, Gabe Brown & Xavier Tillman
UPDATE 1st media timeout of the 1st half and #9 Michigan State tied with the Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-2. 15:59 The Spartans have 1 turnover.
UPDATE 2nd media timeout of the 1st half and #9 Michigan State leads the Minnesota Golden Gophers 19-9. 11:04 The Spartans have 3 turnovers.
UPDATE 3rd media timeout of the 1st half and #9 Michigan State leads the Minnesota Golden Gophers 10-7. 7:50 The Spartans have 6 turnovers.
UPDATE FINAL media timeout of the 1st half and #9 Michigan State leads the Minnesota Golden Gophers 24-13. 3:34 The Spartans have 2 turnovers.
Halftime 30-22 MSU Stats:
UPDATE 1st media timeout of the 2nd half and the #9 Michigan State Spartans lead the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 41-32. 16:26 The Spartans have 8 turnovers.
UPDATE 2nd media timeout of the 2nd half and the #9 Michigan State Spartans lead the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 49-38. 11:59 The Spartans have 8 turnovers.
UPDATE 3rd media timeout of the 2nd half and the #9 Michigan State Spartans lead the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 54-42. 7:40 The Spartans have 9 turnovers.
UPDATE FINAL media timeout of the 2nd half and the #9 Michigan State Spartans lead the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 66-48. 3:44 The Spartans have 9 turnovers.
Spartans win 70-52 here are the stats:
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