The MSU men’s basketball team gave head coach Tom Izzo the only thing he asked for on his 47th birthday - a win over rival Michigan.
The Spartans (12-8 overall , 3-4 Big Ten) toppled U-M (8-10, 3-5) 71-44 Wednesday night at Breslin Center. MSU is 4-0 on Izzo’s birthday, including a 91-64 win over the Wolverines last year in Ann Arbor.
But Izzo said he didn’t focus on his birthday.
“I didn’t care. They didn’t care,” Izzo said of his and his players’ feelings about the occasion. “It was a mutual thing.”
Even though Izzo didn’t talk about it, sophomore center Jason Andreas said he was thinking about it.
“They didn’t say anything about it, but you knew it was on his mind,” Andreas said. “So we were happy we could make his birthday a little happier.”
Despite the present, Izzo wasn’t entirely pleased after the game. He said even though his team won by a large margin, the game always seemed like it was close.
“All in all, it didn’t seem like a game we should’ve won by 20 points,” Izzo said. “ We were out of sync tonight even though some things may have went our way.”
One thing that went MSU’s way was how the team took care of the ball. MSU came into the game averaging 17.1 turnovers per game, but only committed nine against U-M.
“We did do something that we haven’t done all year,” Izzo said. “We didn’t have five or six turnovers in a row.”
In addition to taking care of the ball, MSU shot a stellar 52.2 percent from the field, while the Wolverines only shot 28.6.
U-M head coach Tommy Amaker, in his first season with the Wolverines, said that was a major difference in the contest.
“Anytime you shoot 29 percent, you’re not going to beat anyone,” he said.
Despite not shooting well, one strong point for the Wolverines was forward LaVell Blanchard. After scoring five points in the first half, Blanchard, an Ann Arbor native, finished with a game-high 16 points with eight rebounds in 37 minutes.
With a 66-44 lead, Izzo unloaded his bench and freshman forward Aaron Alexander, who is on loan from the football team, scored with 1:04 left.
And although U-M scored the game’s first five points, the Spartans also dominated the first half. MSU finally got on the board three minutes into the game on a jumper from junior forward Adam Ballinger.
Ballinger finished with a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds. He was one of four Spartans to finish with double-digit points.
The Spartans stormed back into the game on an 11-0 run.
MSU’s offensive serge in the first half was mostly thanks to junior forward Al Anagonye. In the first half he scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. But Anagonye didn’t score in the second half.
But the game wasn’t all MSU highlights, as the team got a scare with 4:10 left when freshman guard Kelvin Torbert came down hard on his left ankle and had to be helped off the floor.
Torbert didn’t return to action, but Izzo said the injury was only cramps.
The Spartans return to action at 1 p.m. Sunday in Champaign, Ill. MSU will take on a Fighting Illini team that has dropped its last two Big Ten games.
Izzo said he’s going to celebrate his birthday and the win by getting ready for Illinois.
“I’m just going to stay here and watch 10 hours of Illinois tape,” Izzo said.
Click here for more photos of the game.
