Refusing to be discounted as a Big Ten contender, the Spartans delivered another dominating win, tossing their hat into the tight conference race.
MSU (7-7 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) followed up an 18-point win over Penn State on Wednesday with a 71-54 mauling of Michigan on Saturday afternoon.
It was the first time since the end of November that MSU put together back-to-back wins and the first time the Spartans began living up to the No. 3 preseason ranking.
Still, MSU head coach Tom Izzo isn't throwing the confetti quite yet.
"We've played two better games against a decent team in Penn State and a very good team in Michigan, yet we've got so far to go yet, it's a joke," Izzo said. "It was great to win, but it was better to do it the old-fashioned way - we checked well and we rebounded well."
The Spartans outrebounded the Wolverines 32-26 and held U-M to 36.2 percent shooting from the field. MSU's swarming defense also forced U-M into 22 turnovers, which resulted in 22 Spartans points.
Two of the Wolverines' more heralded players, senior swingman Bernard Robinson Jr. and sophomore wing Daniel Horton, had 13 turnovers between them.
"Respectfully so, they played solid defensively," U-M head coach Tommy Amaker said. "But I wasn't pleased with our offensive efficiency. In order to play well on the road, you need your key players to play well.
"When you don't take care of the ball, you don't give yourself a chance."
A chance is what the Spartans now have given themselves in an extremely unpredictable Big Ten conference. Just two weeks into the season, no team has an undefeated record in the league, and five teams, including the Spartans, sit atop the conference with a 2-1 record.
That in itself has many saying the Spartans are back on track for a stop in San Antonio. Izzo says not so fast.
"It's so early and so goofy," Izzo said. "It's coming - don't jump to conclusions. It's coming, but we're not there yet.
"We called this 'ownership week' because we felt like this team needed to take ownership of this program, and I felt like we tried to take some ownership."
Izzo is hoping his team sustains that drive because it plays three games in nine days - all on the road.
MSU played three straight road games last season, but the results weren't pretty. The Spartans lost every game and started the Big Ten season with three losses in just four conference games.
Junior guard Chris Hill said the Spartans remember that stretch and will use it as even more motivation to keep up the intensity.
"We've had two big wins and put together two very solid defensive games," Hill said. "Now, we try and take that on the road - with the same mentality."
Christopher M. Mackinder can be reached at mackind8@msu.edu.
