Freshmen forward Deyonta Davis and Michigan forward Mark Donnal tip off the game against Michigan at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Feb. 6, 2016. The Spartans defeated the Wolverines 89-73.
No. 10 MSU defeated the University of Michigan 89-73 in the only meeting between the in-state rivals this season. MSU was led by 29 points from senior guard Bryn Forbes and senior guard Denzel Valentine who ended the game with 21 points nine rebounds and eight assists. U-M was led by junior Zak Irvin who ended with 19 points.
“I thought the execution we had offensively early, getting Forbes shots and taking away (Duncan) Robinson's shots, and for the most part (Zak) Irvin’s early," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said after the win. "(Irvin) got some late, but I thought early we did a pretty good job on him.”
Senior Matt Costello added 14 points as the three seniors from Michigan combined for 64 of MSU's 89 points in what could be their final game against U-M.
MSU and U-M traded baskets to open the game, but similar to the past few games the hot shooting Spartans opened up an 11-5 lead, thanks to an 8-0 run over a three minutes span early in the first half behind 4-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line.
From there it was all MSU, as the Spartans shot 10-of-14 from behind the 3-point line in the first half, led by Forbes who knocked down 7-of-9 from behind the 3-point line in the first half as MSU picked apart U-M's various zone defenses.
“A lot of times yeah,” Forbes said when asked if he was surprised by how open he was. “I didn't think I was going to be able to find those shots, you know I think I got eight threes up in the first half, and they were all good shots. I was surprised, but I was happy.”
MSU finished the game 14-of-22 from the 3-point line with Forbes finishing with a with a career high eight made threes on 8-of-10 shooting and 10-of-12 from the floor. MSU shot a blistering 65 percent throughout the game, including shooting 64 percent from the 3-point line.
On defense, MSU suffocated U-M, holding the Wolverines, the third-best 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten, to just 7-of-26, and forced two shot clock violations on U-M.
MSU's lead grew as large as 18 in the first half at 29-11. U-M would make a run though as the team began to knock down its open shots, going on a 11-4 run of its own to close the gap to 33-22.
MSU went to halftime leading U-M 44-28. When the team's came out in the second half, MSU looked to establish its power inside, scoring its first 12 points of the second half inside as MSU extended its lead to 56-37.
Senior forward Matt Costello led the way in the second half for MSU scoring 13 of his 14 points in the second half to go along with his six rebounds. Costello said after the game Izzo made it a point at halftime that MSU needed to work the ball inside in the second half, after only making three field goals in the paint in the first half.
“Yeah, because Bryn was shooting so well from outside that just opened everything up for us in the middle and you saw (Gavin Schilling), me, (Deyonta Davis), Kenny (Goins), guys were just able to go to work in the post," Costello said."
With just over 10 minutes to play in the second half, MSU used an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 69-42 causing U-M coach John Beilein to call a timeout after a three from freshman Matt McQuaid and fast-break dunk by Costello.
MSU assisted on 18 of the team's 32 made field goals and out rebounded U-M 35-20.
This is MSU's fourth straight win over its in-state rival. MSU also has now extended its winning streak to four games including three straight wins by double-digits.
MSU will next take on Purdue on Tuesday in West Lafayette, Indiana. The game will be at 7 p.m. and televised on ESPN.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
