EAST LANSING – Tuesday night was the perfect storm for Michigan State.
In a game filled with milestones, the Spartans defeated archrival Michigan 81-62, giving head coach Tom Izzo his 700th career win on his 69th birthday.
After a lackluster start, MSU took command in the early stages of the second half and never looked back, handing the Wolverines their fifth consecutive loss.
The Spartans shot 56% from the field, while recording 21 assists and only six turnovers against the Wolverines.
Junior guard Jaden Akins had one of his best performances in an MSU uniform, recording 23 points and connecting on seven of his 10 three point attempts, both career highs.
“The guy that really saved us was Jaden Akins,” said Izzo.
It was a tale of two halves for both sides. Michigan shot 60 percent from the field in the first, setting the tone and staying ahead even after MSU snapped out of another slow start and found its rhythm on offense. The Wolverines held a lead for over 16 minutes of the first, yet went into halftime clinging to a slight two point lead.
“I thought [Michigan] outplayed us most of the first half, even though the score was what it was,” said Izzo.
In the second half, it was Michigan State who shot 60 percent from the floor, dismantling every adjustment Michigan made on defense, including a full court press, a zone, and a box and one on Tyson Walker.
While MSU started to find its groove, Michigan began to unravel. The Wolverines connected on only 25 percent of their field goal attempts, while shooting 54% from the free throw line in the second half.
“The difference was, everything great in the first half, we had breakdowns in the second half with,” said Michigan head coach Juwan Howard.
The Wolverines also gave up 17 fastbreak points to MSU, after only giving up one in the first half.
“We got into a hole that we couldn’t get out of,” said Howard.
Senior guard AJ Hoggard finished with 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds, giving him 1,000 career points.
“I’m happy for him, because it meant a lot to him,” said Izzo. “You get to be in an elite group. Whatever the thousand point scorers are or however many there are, that’s not something everybody gets to do. So I am really happy and he did it in three and a half years, that’s pretty good. I’m proud of him.”
Hoggard is only the seventh player in school history to record over 1,000 career points and 500 assists.
Michigan was led by senior guard Jaelin Llewellyn, who recorded a season-high 18 points on only nine shots, along with three rebounds and an assist in 35 minutes. Senior forward Terrance Williams II also reached double figures with 14 points, while adding in three rebounds and two assists.
For MSU, both Malik Hall and Tyson Walker recorded 12 points apiece. The Spartans also received 19 bench points, with Tre Holloman leading the way with seven.
With the win, MSU is now 13-8 on the season and 5-5 in the Big Ten. The Spartans will host Maryland at the Breslin Center on Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
