Tom Izzo Weekly Press Conference Minnesota Gopher Week
Breslin Center
East Lansing, MI
The Michigan State Spartans beat up and beat down their arch-rival the #12 Michigan Wolverines this weekend. That improves the men in green’s season record to 12-3 (4-0). The Spartans vs. Wolverines finished with a final score of 87-69.
The Spartans had two players score in double-digits. They were led by Cassius Winston who had a career night with 32 points and nine assists. Xavier Tillman had a double-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds.
The Wolverines were down star player Isaiah Livers, but East Lansing native Brandon Johns more than made up for his being lost. But the Spartans are still without former McDonalds All American Joshua Langford and Joey Hauser. Hauser is considered by many inside the program and on the staff as the best player on the Spartans roster.
The men in the green lead the Wolverines on the boards with 43-34. The Spartans had 13 turnovers. The Spartan defense held the Wolverines to 36% shooting from the field and a stingy 22% from three.
The Spartans had the lead for 39:30 of the 40 minutes in the game. In all Tom Izzo played all 16 available players. Seven of them scored.
Izzo’s men continued their habit of being unselfish. They had 16 assists on 28 baskets. The Spartans shot 47% from three, 53% from the field and a disappointing 73% from the charity stripe.
The team will return to the hard-court Thursday, January 9, 2020, at the Breslin Center against Minnesota. That game can be seen on ESPN at 9:00 PM.
The Spartans open Big Ten play 4-0 as previously mentioned. They are winning conference games by a 14 point margin on average.
With the blowout of their rival, the Spartans improved from #14 to #8 in the college basketball rankings. Super-Star PG Cassius Winston also won the Naismith Player of the week and the Big Ten player of the week honors.
Want the latest breaking MSU news delivered straight to your email for FREE? Sign up for the DAILY Spartan Nation newsletter when you CLICK THE MAGAZINE ICON at the top left of the page or the FOLLOW button back on the main page. Don’t miss any of the latest up to the second updates on Michigan State Sports when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter
