MSU Flips The Script To Claim Second Big Ten Win
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Michigan State was looking to rebound after its first loss of the season to Duke by pursuing a win against Big Ten rival Penn State.
Before the match, it seemed as though the Spartans were going to have a somewhat easy win, as they entered the game ranked ninth in the nation while the Nittany Lions were left unranked.
Because of a hot finish at the end of the game, in which the Spartans scored eight points that yielded no response, MSU won the match 76-72, officially flipping the script from their cold finish against Duke the week prior.
The game saw MSU finish strong, but they started the game in a shocking first half that saw them lose in many places.
The First Half
- The first half initiated the bounce-back game that a few players from MSU needed, as right out of the gates, players who had been held to very little against Duke were scoring left and right.
- Whether it had been Cam Ward putting up his first points since Iowa or Teng getting back on track, the Spartans were playing clean basketball.
- Furthermore, the team was altogether a well-oiled machine, making more than two-thirds of their three-point attempts and missing only one free throw, almost the exact opposite of the week prior.
- Usually, this would mean that they could pull away from their conference rival; however, Penn State had caught MSU off guard and was playing excellently on the offensive side of the ball.
- They shockingly entered the half up 39-36, heavily in part to MSU's biggest weakness thus far into the game, with turnovers.
- Having such a lead, the Spartans needed to adjust on defense, and that was what they did going into the second half.
The Second Half
- In need of a fast start the Spartans entered the second half hungrier than before, and it paid off immediately, coming to a ten point lead within minutes while holding of their opponent.
- The team was still playing elite on offense and hardly missing shots, that was until the Nittany Lions started climbing back.
- It all started with a miscue by Jeremy Fears Jr. and Teng, from which Penn State began to go on a near double digit run.
- They took MSU by surprise once again, and before anyone could bat an eye, the lead was back to the Nittany Lions, if even for a moment.
- Both teams would continue to keep it close going into the final five minutes, and the Spartans were able to hold onto the lead for much of that time, in part due to Divine Ugochukwu starting for the first time and delivering.
- In fact, he was the one to essentially finish the game, hitting a big three from the corner to put MSU ahead by five with less than 40 seconds to go before hitting two free throws to silence the final comeback attempt by Penn State.
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Nathan Berry is a senior at NCCS and was raised a Michigan State Spartan fan. With a great interest in sports and writing, journalism is a great avenue to pursue both.