In its first game without star senior guard Denzel Valentine, who will miss the next few weeks due to a knee injury, the No. 1 MSU basketball team trails in-state foe Oakland University at the half, 50-37.

Oakland guard Kay Felder leads the Grizzlies with 21 points and 7 assists at the break.

Senior MSU guard Bryn Forbes leads the Spartans with 16 points.

Oakland came out competitive from the start and held a 27-13 lead near the halfway point of the first half of Tuesday night's contest from The Palace of Auburn Hills.

From there, MSU did manage to cut the Oakland lead to 27-19 but the Grizzlies would score seven straight to go back up 34-19 at the 7:16 mark of the first half.

After that, MSU went on a quick 9-0 run to close Oakland's lead to six, 34-28.

But Oakland would continue to pile it on and took a 50-37 lead into the half. They are shooting 7-of-12 from behind the 3-point line.

Turnovers have been a problem for the Spartans. They currently have 10 in the first 20 minutes of action.