No. 7 Spartans Outmatch Gophers Again to Lock 13th-Straight Win
![Michigan State's Tre Holloman celebrates after making a 3-pointer against Minnesota during the first half on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Michigan State's Tre Holloman celebrates after making a 3-pointer against Minnesota during the first half on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2400,h_1350,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/spartan_nation/01jjr0b9f9831stfshfv.jpg)
EAST LANSING, Mich. --No. 7 Michigan State was simply too much for a Minnesota squad that came to the Breslin Center looking for a fourth-straight win on Tuesday.
As they have done so often at home this season, the Spartans dominated the Golden Gophers, 73-51, clinching their 13th consecutive victory while improving to 18-2 overall and 9-0 in Big Ten play.
Junior guard Tre Holloman led the way for Michigan State, scoring 12 points, all of which had come in the first half. He was joined by senior guard Jaden Akins and sophomore forward Xavier Booker, who each scored 10, as the team's double-digit scorers.
Junior center Carson Cooper also excelled, nearly recording a double-double with 9 points and a team-high 11 boards. He also added three blocks.
Michigan State got off to a 6-0 start, holding Minnesota scoreless for almost the first 6 minutes. The Gophers started the contest 1-for-10 from the field.
The Spartans would go on a bit of a drought of their own though, going scoreless for almost 4 minutes. That ended with a triple from Holloman, which gave Michigan State a 9-3 lead with just under 12-and-a-half minutes to go in the half.
Less than 3 minutes later, Kohler would drain a 3 of his own and, just over 4 minutes later, knocked down another to make it a 21-8 lead for the Spartans.
Minnesota wouldn't crack the double-digit mark until less than 3-and-a-half minutes remained before the break.
What occurred shortly after was an incredible scoring burst from Holloman. The veteran guard drilled three 3-pointers in a row, scoring 9 points in under a minute.
That would give Michigan State a 20-point lead.
The Spartans went into halftime with a 36-16 advantage.
It took Michigan State 3-and-a-half minutes to get on the board in the second half, as Minnesota started the half with a 5-0 run.
But the Spartans combatted it with a 5-0 run of their own, capped off by a triple from Akins.
Michigan State would eventually go up by as many as 22, but a 14-5 run from the Gophers would trim the deficit to just 13. The surge was led by none other than Minnesota senior forward Dawson Garcia, who scored 9 of those 14 points. He scored 13 of the Gophers' 35 second-half points, finishing with a game-high 21.
Michigan State finally planted its foot and quieted the resilient Gophers with another 3-pointer from Akins, which put the Spartans back up 16 with just under 6-and-a-half minutes left in the contest.
That ignited an 8-0 run for Michigan State, which included a spectacular alley-oop throw-down by -- you guessed it -- sophomore forward Coen Carr, who was assisted by the Spartans' maestro on Tuesday, freshman guard Jase Richardson. Richardson finished the night with both a season-high and game-high eight assists to go along with his 6 points.
The Spartans finished strong, and with the win, finished the month of January strong, yet again turning in another undefeated month.
Michigan State will now get ready to head out west for meetings with USC and UCLA to start off what should be an incredibly tough February.
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