Instant Recap: Michigan Drops The Regular-Season Finale At MSU, 70-64
Miss any of the Michigan Wolverines' basketball game at Michigan State this afternoon? We've got you covered with a complete recap of how things unfolded below…
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First Half
Freshman center Hunter Dickinson got Michigan on the board first today, laying the ball in on a short bucket to put his club up 2-0 right off the bat. The Wolverines' offense started 1-of-8 from the field, however.
Senior guard Eli Brooks drained a triple right at the 16-minute mark to tie the game at 5-5, and that's where the score stood at the under-16 timeout. U-M's offense was just 2-of-9 from the field at that point though and MSU's was 2-of-8.
An unfortunate sequence occurred at the 15:36 mark when Brooks suffered an ankle injury after a made floater in the lane, and had to be helped off the court. He sat on the bench momentarily before heading to the locker room.
Michigan State's margin was 12-9 at the under-12 timeout, and U-M's offense was stuck in a cold spell. It had only hit four of its first 15 shots, and Brooks was the leading scorer at that point with five points (despite being out with injury).
There wasn't much offensive success for either team over the next several minutes, with the Spartans leading just 15-14 at the under-8 media timeout. Michigan State was in a 1-of-7 shooting drought at that point, but U-M's offense wasn't able to capitalize on the other end, still shooting a dismal 30 percent for the game overall.
The Wolverines grabbed a 21-17 lead on a corner triple from senior forward Isaiah Livers (just U-M's second three-pointer of the game), but then saw MSU go on a 6-0 run and take a 23-21 lead into the under-four media timeout.
MSU redshirt sophomore forward Joey Hauser drained a clutch triple from the top of the key with 1:10 left in the first half to put his squad up 28-23, but the Wolverines had an answer on the other end.
Fifth-year senior point guard Mike Smith immediately poured in a three-pointer of his own at the top of the key on the ensuing possession to cut the Spartans' advantage to 28-26.
Sophomore guard Franz Wagner missed a corner triple on Michigan's final possession of the half, allowing Michigan State to take a 30-26 lead into the break. The Spartans shot 40 percent for the first half, while U-M only connected on 36 percent of its attempts.
Second Half
Michigan State extended its lead to five (34-29) with a lay in from junior forward Aaron Henry at the 17:59 mark, but Michigan senior guard Chaundee Brown followed it up with a huge triple from the right wing at 16:10 to cut the deficit to 36-34.
That's where the score stood at the under-16 timeout. Hauser connected on a short jumper from the free throw line with 12:28 left in the game to extend MSU's lead to 45-38, which at the time was its biggest of the game.
The Spartans stretched the margin to 47-38 on an and-one from junior center Marcus Bingham, and that's where the score stood at the under-12 timeout. Michigan State was in the midst of a 6-0 run, and the Maize and Blue, on the other hand, were in a 2:04 scoring drought.
Dickinson was tagged with his fourth foul at the 8:13 mark and MSU holding a 50-42 edge. Head coach Juwan Howard sat him down at that point, with the 7-1 freshman having tallied five points and five rebounds.
The best player for Michigan State on the afternoon was sophomore guard Rocket Watts, with the 6-2 guard hitting a deep two-point jumper with 6:15 left, putting his club up 54-44.
Watts had 21 points at that juncture. Brown made a clutch three-pointer from the corner with 4:56 to go, cutting the Spartans' lead to 55-49. The Wolverines' offense was finally showing signs of life, having hit five of their last seven shots.
Michigan continued to hang around and cling to life, with Wagner nailing a crucial three-pointer at the 3:20 mark, making the score 59-54. A foul and a lay-in from Dickinson then made it 61-56 with 1:51 to go (he missed the free throw), before he made a second consecutive and-one to trim it to 61-59 with 1:13 left (made the free throw on that one).
MSU's Josh Langford followed it up with a key triple though, pushing his team's margin to 64-59 at the 44-second mark. Four consecutive made free throws from junior forward Gabe Brown and junior forward Aaron Henry sealed the win, with MSU hanging on for a 70-64 victory.
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