Spartans beat Wolverines in Ann Arbor, 64-49
Ann Arbor — The rivalry atmosphere was almost apparent, but MSU again spoiled the party at Crisler Arena, winning 64-49 over Michigan on the road. Despite U-M\'s efforts to slow down the game\'s pace — holding the ball to at least 11 seconds left on the shot clock — the Spartans (17-4 overall, 8-2 Big Ten) still seemed to control the tempo getting three dunks on their first four possessions. \"We knew it was going to be a fight coming in and we just had to take it to them,\" sophomore guard Shannon Brown said. Brown led the way early with 14 points shooting 7 of 8 from the field, but senior guard Alan Anderson stole the show in the final four minutes, finishing with 16 points and six rebounds. U-M (12-13, 3-8) led 30-20 at halftime, but with 2:55 left in the second half, U-M cut an 18 point lead to eight with the help of nine points from Wolverine guard Dion Harris. But as U-M tried to trap, the Spartans found Anderson driving to the basket for a dunk, two shots in the paint and a short pass to junior center Paul Davis for another dunk to push the lead to 18 again. Anderson also scored his 1,000th career point 2:24 into the game on a powerful wide-open slam dunk. \"I thought Alan was the MVP today,\" head coach Tom Izzo said.