Minneapolis, Minn. - The Spartans made it clear they came to play in Minneapolis from the opening tip with an alley-oop dunk by junior guard Jason Richardson.
“It was just a great chance for us to get going,” he said. “It was there and we took it.”
With their 94-83 win Saturday the Spartans remain one game out of first place in the Big Ten standings.
No. 14 Iowa and No. 16 Wisconsin both lost Saturday to put MSU (19-3 overall, 8-3 Big Ten) in sole possession of second place.
In MSU’s three games following a loss this season the Spartans’ average margin of victory is 23 points.
To Spartan fans an alley-oop is no surprise, but the starting lineup was. Freshman guard Marcus Taylor and freshman center Zach Randolph - starters since the Northwestern game Jan. 10 - returned to the bench.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo said the decision was made to create more scoring off the bench.
“I thought they did a good job of bringing that,” he said. “It’s one of those things where you start your best defensive team and bring in your offensive players.”
Taylor and Randolph combined for 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
After Richardson’s initial dunk the Golden Gophers (16-8, 4-7) answered with a quick three-pointer and stayed close until the Spartans went on a 11-0 run, blowing the game open with a 19-5 lead.
The run ended on a three-pointer by guard Terrance Simmons, who connected on 7-of-12 three-pointers for the game. Simmons led all scorers with a career-high 34 points.
“I’ve known all along that I’m a pretty good offensive player,” he said. “I’ve just never taken as many shots as I did today.”
Simmons said the Gophers gave MSU their best game but the Spartans just wore them down.
“People usually have a weakness but Michigan State doesn’t have a weakness,” he said. “I think they’re one of the top three teams in the nation. I’m pretty sure they’re going to be in Minneapolis come Final Four time.”
MSU led by as many as 20 points in the first half, but Minnesota rallied late to go into halftime trailing 48-40.
Simmons’ three-point buzzer beater brought the crowd of 14,210 to their feet and gave the Gophers the momentum of a 6-2 run heading to the locker room.
Minnesota finished the game 16-of-30 on three-pointers, keeping the Gophers within striking distance.
With 3:54 remaining Minnesota pulled within two points, but two Gopher turnovers and a Richardson three-pointer silenced the crowd and gave MSU control.
Richardson finished the game with 16 points and six rebounds.
Minnesota head coach Dan Monson said the game was a moral victory for the Gophers, but still counts as a loss on their record.
“They just simply ran out of gas,” he said of the Gophers. “After Dusty (Rychart) fouled out it really turned the game to their favor.”
Rychart - who leads Minnesota on the season with 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game - fouled out at the 2:59 mark with just 10 points and two rebounds.
The Spartans were led by senior guard Charlie Bell’s 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Bell said MSU’s offensive outburst was good to see, but added the Spartans need to play better defense if they wish to defend any of their championships.
“That’s really not the key to us winning,” he said of the offensive performance. “We’ve got to pick it up on the defensive end if we want to win a championship.
“I think last year our team defense was a little bit better, especially on the perimeter. We can’t lock up with people as well as we did last year.”
The win improved Izzo’s record against the Gophers to 7-4, including three straight at Williams Arena. Minnesota still leads the all-time series 53-45.
Changes to the starting lineup will be determined after reviewing tape and evaluating performance in practice, Izzo said.
The Spartans’ next game is Sunday at home against Iowa.
“I’m going to look at the film,” Izzo said. “Then I’ll make some decisions. I’ve got a week to do it so it’s going to be fun.”
