From the instant the MSU men’s basketball team set foot on the floor, the intensity was there. It just took them a little while to channel it and throw it back in the face of the rival Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans’ high-flying fast-break dunks and physical offense were too much for U-M’s long-distance shooting, as MSU handled the Wolverines, 77-62, Sunday at Breslin Center. Senior guard Drew Neitzel and freshman guard Kalin Lucas each had 18 points to lead the No. 10 Spartans (18-2 overall, 6-1 Big Ten) against U-M (5-15, 1-7).
The co-captain Neitzel came out on the court before the game with both arms in the air to motivate the home fans. Then, at a U-M timeout with 3:27 remaining and the Spartans leading 72-51, he and the rest of the team met at half-court for chest bumps, igniting the crowd and putting one last nail in their cross-state rivals’ coffin.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo said he told his players in his pregame talk to make their emotions a “plus” in the game, rather than a “minus.”
“Sometimes you can be too excited and have pregame jitters,” sophomore forward Raymar Morgan said. “We might have had some early turnovers and mistakes, but I think it was just because we were too anxious.”
Morgan, from Canton, Ohio, said he doesn’t fully appreciate the rivalry matchup, but can still feed off his teammates’ energy.
“I know it means a lot for the Michigan guys, so I still go out and try my best,” he said.
“(Neitzel and senior center Drew Naymick) were pumped before the game and with them being pumped, it just gets everybody else pumped.”
In addition to Neitzel continuing to score consistently was his unselfishness and ability to share the ball – finishing with seven assists on frequent backdoor screens and feeds into the low post to open teammates.
“I’m happy and I’m relieved,” Izzo said of Neitzel breaking out of his recent scoring lull. “It was getting hard on both of us. Now he’s getting 13-14 shots per game and when he’s shooting, that’s when those slips are open for those easy layups because it’s hard to guard them on those plays we ran.”
The Spartans had nearly as many assists (25) as field goals made (31).
Junior forward Marquise Gray also had an electric performance, providing eight points and four rebounds off the bench in 14 minutes with his trademark and-one baskets and high-flying dunks.
With 5:40 remaining, Lucas dove on the ground for a loose ball, found junior guard Travis Walton with an outlet pass and Walton hit a streaking Gray who threw it down over his U-M defender.
“The way they ran their offense – the speed and intensity that they run their plays with — is something very hard to duplicate in practice and scouting sessions,” U-M coach John Beilein said. “It was very hard for us to guard them tonight.”
U-M chose to live or die via the 3-point shot and, for a while, appeared as if it could survive.
It turned an 11-2 MSU lead into a 19-14 U-M advantage with five long balls and didn’t stop the barrage in the second half. The Wolverines shot 8-for-31 from beyond the arc in the game.
U-M’s Manny Harris and Anthony Wright each had 11 points for the visitors in the losing effort.
MSU continues play at 9 p.m. Wednesday against Illinois at Breslin Center.
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