Spartans Hold on To Beat Pesky and Hobbled Wolverines In Overtime 76-66
Spartans Hold on To Beat Pesky and Hobbled Wolverines In Overtime 76-66
Breslin Center
East Lansing, MI
The Michigan State Spartans got a win tonight here in East Lansing, but it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty putting down arch rival Michigan in overtime 76-66. A rivalry win is a rivalry win, but when your rival is down two starters and you’re at full capacity it is concerning.
The Spartans record for the season improves to 15-7 (6-3) with a big stretch coming up.
Tom Izzo felt, “I thought Michigan in general played well. The number of shots we missed is just mind boggling to me. I wasn’t real pleased with the way we played; I was pleased we got a win. On one turnover they through it to me, but I think I could have hit a shot or a free throw better than them so maybe it was a good idea. All in all it was a win. We are 6-3 and tied for second in the league, but it aint all bad.â€
UM Head Coach John Beilein said, “Another really really good Michigan vs. Michigan State basketball game. We can’t mimic the speed that they play with or Branden Dawson’s ability to offensive rebound. They’ve got some really good players and Tom is a really good coach. They have a great crowd here. It’s a tremendous basketball atmosphere.â€
MSU shot 46% for the game and the Wolverines shot 43%. The Spartans owned the boards 43-29 and MSU had 19 assists on 27 shots. Denzel Valentine led the Spartans in scoring with 25 points and Branden Dawson again quietly had a double double with 19 points and 10 boards. Travis Trice was solid with nine assists, eight points and 10 boards.
I don’t care what team you root for, you couldn’t watch a Michigan team down two starters and not at least respect them for their effort. Beilein isn’t looking for moral victories, but even he couldn’t negate the effort for his wounded and hobbled team.
“I like the way the team is growing right now. I do like our kids are hunkered in and they are going after it. I do see the growth and we will really going forward talk about that.â€
Izzo was frank about this team saying, “I think we are better than we are playing.â€
I’m not as certain of that as he is, but I am certain that Izzo is having a great season coaching this team. Not is best record, but this isn’t his best team. Perhaps a spoiled fan base doesn’t want to recognize that this team isn’t as good as the past and they fact they are second in the Big Ten is because of the coach holding them together with glue and tape? I think this Spartan team could become very good, but right now they aren’t there and the success they are having is because of their future Hall of Fame coach.
The Spartans return to action on February 7 (next Saturday) at home versus Illinois. That game can be seen on ESPN.
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