“I’m healthy, my wife’s healthy, my trainer’s in great shape, other than that we’ve got problems,” Izzo said.

It started with Gary Harris’ back.

Then it was Branden Dawson’s ankle.

Add on a bloody — initially feared to be broken — nose for Adreian Payne, a shoulder popping out of place for Keith Appling, and a head injury that prevented Travis Trice from even suiting up.
One can begin to understand why Izzo is simply thankful for his own health.

Despite it all, the No. 12 MSU men’s basketball team (19-4 overall, 8-2 Big Ten) survived, taking down No. 18 Minnesota (17-6, 5-5) 61-50, on a night where the Spartans shot only 24 percent in the first half.

The offensive ineptitude in the opening 20 minutes was excruciating for both Izzo and Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith, as the Spartans made only four of their first 21 shots, while it took more than 15 minutes for Minnesota to score in double figures.

The scramble for offense led Izzo to go deep into his normally limited bench, using nine players in the opening nine minutes, including rarely used forwards Alex Gauna and Matt Costello, along with guard Russell Byrd, hoping to ignite a spark.

But the Golden Gophers closed the half on a 14-7 run, capped off by a 3-pointer from guard Joe Coleman in the half’s final seconds to give Minnesota a 20-18 lead at the break.

It was the second straight game, both in front of their home crowd, that the Spartans headed into the halftime locker room needing to mount a comeback after a lethargic start.

After talking earlier in the week about the importance of getting off to a fast burst, junior center Payne said he’s not sure why MSU continues to start sluggish, but knows he needs to play better after going scoreless in the opening half.

“I don’t know, but we’ve got to find out because it’s becoming a problem,” Payne said. “We’ve got to really figure it out. That’s all I’ve got to say. … I’ve just got to start being more aggressive.”

The aggressiveness of Payne and fellow center Derrick Nix, who also was scoreless in the first half, helped MSU jump out to a quick second half lead they would never surrender.

Payne scored 11 second half points and was one of six players to score six points or more, with Nix crediting it to a changed mindset the duo shared after talking at halftime.

“Me and Payne came out with a different mentality the second half — we’ve got to score,” Nix said. “I feel like we’re one of the best frontcourts in the nation and we’ve got to start playing like it.”

The aggressive play inside opened up opportunities on the perimeter for MSU’s guards and the Spartans made them count, draining five second half 3-pointers, one from freshman Denzel Valentine and a pair from both Keith Appling and Harris that put the game away.

Harris scored a team-high 15 points, while Appling added 14, as the shooting was part of a second half flurry that saw MSU go on an 11-0 run to move in front 41-29, capped off by a breakaway dunk from sophomore guard/forward Branden Dawson.

An 11-4 run by Minnesota cut the lead to five, 45-40, with 5:39 to go, but MSU answered with an 11-5 run of its own to regain a double-digit lead they would maintain for nearly all of the game’s final five minutes.

“(I’m) proud of the way we came back, proud of the fact that two second half’s we responded,” Izzo said. “(But I’m) disappointed that a good team should have to get to that point because you’re going to run out of those kind of situations if you don’t take care of business earlier.”

In a night of frustration, Izzo managed to see a couple silver linings, including a season-low five turnovers, but knows there’s a long way his team still needs to go.

“I don’t mean it to be as down as it is. You’re 19-4. I think we’ve been 19-4 three or four times in my career, and this is no doubt the toughest the Big Ten has ever been,” he said.

“It was a big win for us. I’m going to take it as a big win, but I’m not going to be one for fool’s gold because I don’t think my team can handle that. They’ve got to get better. We will get better.”