EAST LANSING- No. 7 MSU men’s basketball remains undefeated in B1G play, after a dominant 73-51 win over the Minnesota Gophers.
The Spartans are 18-2 overall and 9-0 in the B1G. This is the first time under head coach Tom Izzo that MSU has gone undefeated in the months of December and January.
Junior guard Tre Holloman had a team high of 12 points with three assists, freshman guard Jase Richardson had a team high of eight assists, followed by redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who had six assists.
Both offenses started out slow, MSU scoring only six in the first five minutes, and the Gophers with zero, going 0-4 from the field.
“It also gives me a chance to coach, do my job earn my money, but it is frustrating you know, I think Jaden struggled tonight, and he’s one of our guys that has to be, we need him offensively and we need him defensively,” Izzo said. “I don’t think we’re as sharp as we need to be offensively.”
MSU’s defense kept the Gophers locked down, holding them to only 16 points at the half, and 51 points overall. This is the lowest point total allowed by MSU this season.
“You know it was swarming, I thought we did a good job on the scouting report, even a couple of their guys said something to me I thought we were swarming on those ball screens, we got up with their bigs,” Izzo said.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler had another huge game off the glass, with eight points and seven rebounds, junior center Carson Cooper had nine points and 11 rebounds, and senior center Szymon Zapala had six points and four offensive rebounds for the Spartans.
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Home court advantage is huge in the B1G, especially at the Breslin Center. The Izzone was doing its part, creating a very tough environment for the visitors.
“Even some people from their team said to me, the crowd was unbelievable,” Izzo said. “And we didn’t even do enough to get ‘em going early but when you have an 8:00 game on a Tuesday night and we’re getting the crowds that we are and the way they are, It’d be remiss if I didn’t thank them for it first, and I think that helps our defense.”
Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson described what it was like for his team to play on the road in this conference and this environment.
“If he (Izzo) could get his fanbase to be like this every game, it just makes such a difference,” Johnson said. “Players respond to that stuff and that environment was like a freakin zoo.”
Depth has been a huge factor in the Spartans’ success this season. Holloman had 12 points which was the team high, compared to Minnesota’s leading scorer, Dawson Garcia, who had 21 points total.
The difference is, the Spartans managed to score 73 as a team, with almost every player contributing to the board.
“Every once in a while, you do need a real go-to guy you know, I understand that and we’re gonna have to work a little harder on that as a staff,” Izzo said. “But the strength in numbers thing is real, you know, and now the second half of the season, as teams are wearing down as this travel does hit you, I’m hoping it’ll help I don’t know its new territory.”
Even without a regular go-to guy, the Spartans have still been able to dominate in the B1G as a collective unit, with someone new stepping up every time.
“We’ve never had it quite like this,” Izzo said. “We got our work cut out for us in the next three-four games, but this is where that depth should really help you, I hope.”
MSU has proven that they can perform as a well-oiled machine, and that all stems from the teamwork and culture of this program, and what it means to play Spartan basketball.
“A team like that that’s rollin that hasn’t lost since Maui, he’s got those guys all on the same page and they’re all connected,” Johnson said. “Now that built in culture is there, and as a coach I could feel it, like you can feel it you can sense it, and the guys that they got, are their type of system guys that fit they’re not rocking the boat.”
MSU will head to the West Coast this weekend to face newly added B1G teams, USC and UCLA, and will not be back at Breslin until February 8 to host Oregon.
“We’re making progress, I just think the roads gonna get a little rocky here, so, hang on,” Izzo said.
MSU at USC will tip off this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. In Los Angeles, California at the Galen Center.