Minneapolis - It's all about the defense.
Three days after torching Ohio State for 22 points and 12 rebounds, Minnesota guard Vincent Grier was shut down by MSU's defense as the No. 19 Spartans won 69-55 over the Golden Gophers on Saturday.
"They were tough on Vince," Minnesota head coach Dan Monson said. "They gave him a step every time and they always had guys on both sides of him."
MSU's defending duo of senior guard Kelvin Torbert and sophomore guard Shannon Brown held the Big Ten's fourth leading scorer scoreless in the first half and only allowed him to score 10 points in the game, the third time this season he was held to 10 points or less.
In the game, Grier shot 3-for-12 from the field.
"The big key for us was to stop Vincent Grier," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "We sort of played the (Michael) Jordan rule."
"He's their best player," MSU senior swingman Alan Anderson said. "We threw a lot of guys at him - particularly Shannon Brown - and he did a great job on him."
Grier dropped to sixth in the league in scoring after Saturday's games.
MSU also had its way with most of the other Gophers as well. The Spartans held guard Aaron Robinson, who dominated the Spartans in previous years, to only 12 first-half points. He shot 3-for-7, all from behind the 3-point line. Guard Rico Tucker was held to three points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Only Minnesota center Jeff Hagen and Minnesota forward Brent Lawson shot 50 percent or above for the Gophers.
As a team, Minnesota only shot 34.7 percent.
The game was the eighth time this season the Spartans have held their opponents to 60 points or less.
A 'heroic deal'
The one player MSU did not have an answer for was Hagen, who, despite playing with a knee injury, scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in 26 minutes.
Izzo called Hagen's performance a "heroic deal."
"I admire people like that," Izzo said. "He sucked it up for his team. He's hurt and he scored on us. I'd hate to see what he would do to us if he was healthy."
Hagen was injured in Minnesota's 70-64 overtime victory against Ohio State on Wednesday.
"He did a tremendous job," MSU senior guard Chris Hill said. "For him to get out there and play really says a lot for him and his team."
Hagen did not start the game, but received a rousing ovation when he entered the game at Williams Arena. Minnesota center Spencer Tollackson started in his place.
Hagen's teammates were aware of how much pain he was going through.
"(Hagen) is a warrior," Lawson said. "It's our senior year and last time through. He's sucking it up like he has to."
