ANN ARBOR - The frustrated look on Josh Moore’s face said it all.
Michigan’s 7-foot-2 inch center airballed a two-foot hook shot early in the second half, in a play symbolic of the team’s constant struggles Tuesday night against No. 5 MSU - who cruised to a 91-64 win.
“I give the credit to the seniors for playing the kind of basketball that has won us championships,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said of the win. “This was one of our best performances of the year since we did it on both ends of the floor.”
The game was eerily similar to last season’s MSU blowout of the Wolverines in East Lansing. The Spartans (17-2 overall, 6-2 Big Ten), who had one of their best starts of the season, took an early 12-3 lead after a layup by sophomore guard Jason Richardson.
RIchardson, one of five MSU players to score in double figures, had a team high 17 points in the win. U-M’s LaVell Blanchard led all scorers with 27 points.
The Saginaw native, who almost considered attending U-M, said MSU was able to step up its play significantly.
“We wanted to come out and especially rebound better and get better shots on offense,” he said. “I think we also played a lot tougher compared to the past couple of games.”
Senior forward Andre Hutson and freshman center Zach Randolph added 15 and 13 points respectively, shooting a combined 11 of 15 from the floor.
Hutson said the good mix of MSU and U-M fans created a unique playing environment.
“It really felt like a tournament game,” Hutson said. “There were two good crowds and a lot of anticipation.”
U-M cut the lead to four, 16-12, after a three-pointer by forward Bernard Robinson Jr. to beat the shot clock. That was the closest the Wolverines (9-10, 3-5) would get to upsetting a hungry MSU squad looking to earn only its second conference road win.
The Spartans scored the next 34 points after the Robinson basket, starting with a three-pointer by senior guard David Thomas.
Bell said MSU’s improved offense in the game was promising, especially with a home matchup against Purdue on Sunday.
“We wanted to come here and make a statement,” Bell said of MSU’s best scoring run this season. “We wanted to play with some real Spartan toughness and we did that.”
Leading 56-27 at the half, Hutson led the Spartans with a team-high 11 points - shooting 5-of-5 from the free throw line - and seven rebounds.
MSU had a 19-13 rebounding advantage at the break and a 42-24 rebounding advantage overall. Despite missing his first six shots from the field while being guarded by Richardson most of the half, Blanchard led the Wolverines at the break with 12 points.
MSU continued its dominance in the second half, earning its largest lead, 74-30 at the 13:58 mark, after a Hutson jump shot in the paint.
U-M center Chris Young, who scored 11 points in the loss, said there were times in the game when he thought some of his teammates gave up, especially during MSU’s first half scoring run.
“The final score of this game was just ridiculous,” Young said. “It looked like there were players who just flat out quit. It’s incredibly disappointing, I just want to go hide under my bed.”
Eric Lacy can be reached at lacyeric@msu.edu.
