EAST LANSING— It took 10 minutes and 25 seconds for Washington to put up their first bucket of the game after falling behind 16-2. It wasn’t until the second half after 10 three-point attempts later that a three finally fell for the Huskies.
“It was our night, it wasn’t their night,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said post-game. “The 28 fast break points to two I think was maybe the biggest difference in the game.”
No. 16 Michigan State cruised past Washington 88-54 Thursday night. This marked the first matchup between the two teams at the Breslin Center in program history since the conference realignment.
“The crowd factor. It was awesome,” Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle said post-game. “It was what I expected. It’s everything you see on TV and that’s why they have such a great home court advantage.”
Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led the Spartans throughout the first half. Fears drained the first three of the game to put the Spartans on the board. He finished the game with his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
“I thought Jeremy played one of his best games, both offensively and defensively,” Izzo said.
The Huskies shooting was riddled with poor shots and a strong defensive effort from the Spartans. In the first half, Washington shot 17.2% from the field, 0% from behind the arc and 37.5% from the free throw line.
The first half was completely controlled by MSU with Washington struggling to compete with the Spartans. At the half, MSU held a 29-point lead, 42-13. This was the fewest points the Spartans have allowed in a Big Ten game since 2009.
“Our competitive spirit wasn’t there tonight,” Sprinkle said. “Our physicality and our toughness and in order to play against Michigan State, what their program is built on, we knew what we were coming into as a staff.”
After halftime, the Huskies had a long way to go to catch up. MSU became unreachable for Washington and three more players joined the double-digit club with Fears. Akins put up 20 points, freshman guard Jase Richardson had 12 and junior guard Tre Holloman had 11.
“I think he’s settling in,” Izzo said of Akins. “Jaden is our go to guy, but that doesn’t mean he always will be because sometimes, as I said, I don’t know who it’s going to be.”
The Huskies were able to produce more in the second half and put up 41 points in the second half. The Spartans also produced more in the second half putting up 46 points.
“I thought we played awfully well, we stayed focused,” Izzo said. “We actually shot better in the second. We rebounded a little better in the second half. We went 17-18 from the free throw line, which has been consistent.”
Washington finished shooting 32.7% in the paint, 18.8% from behind the arc and 65.2% from the free throw line. Comparatively, MSU finished shooting 52.5% in the paint, 33.3% from behind the arc and 94.4% from the free throw line.
Until the last second of the game, the Spartans played through. Junior guard Nick Sanders checked into the game with just over a minute left of play. Sanders sunk a fadeaway jump shot to close out the game and secure the 88-54 victory for MSU.
“The biggest thing I’m trying to do with my team is keep consistency,” Izzo said. “Can we stay consistent even in the loss to Memphis? Loss to Kansas? We’ve been consistent.”
Up next, MSU will be traveling to take on Northwestern on Sunday at noon. Tune into the live radio broadcast featuring Matt Merrifield and Allie Cohen locally on 88.9 FM or at impact89fm.org/listen-live/.
