EAST LANSING— The pressure was on for No. 8 Michigan State with its rival No. 17 Michigan in town on Sunday afternoon. 

MSU only trailed behind Michigan for a total of 46 seconds within the first couple minutes of play by one point. For the rest of the game, the Spartans held the Wolverines off and didn’t let up, leading to a 79-62 victory. 

“I didn’t look at this game as the end all be all,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “Keeping your string of winning is important, but playing better is the most important. Want to play better at this time of the year and I thought we really did for probably 30 of the 40 minutes.” 

The first half was controlled by MSU as the Spartans headed the first 20 minutes to earn themselves a 22-point advantage at halftime.  

Senior guard Jaden Akins and junior guard Tre Holloman led MSU with 11 points each. They both also sunk three triples a piece in the first half to help maintain the Spartans double-digit lead that lasted for 13 minutes.  

Graduate center Vladislav Goldin was the primary contributor for Michigan in the first half. Goldin put up 19 of the Wolverines’ 28 points.  

MSU benefited from Michigan’s mistakes. The Wolverines turned it over 11 times, seven of which were stolen by the Spartans.  

“I thought we played awfully well first half,” Izzo said. “We really did. Shot it better. We didn’t turn the ball over, two turnovers. They had a bunch of them.” 

The beginning of the second half didn’t see the same MSU squad that the first half saw. The Spartans opened the second half with a lengthy scoring drought and shooting troubles.  

The Spartan lead got as high as 25 points until Michigan built up a 14-0 run over MSU with 9:23 to go in the second half. Junior forward/center Danny Wolf and Goldin helped keep the Wolverines afloat with 15 points apiece in the second half alone.  

Freshman guard Jase Richardson was the spark plug for MSU in the second half. He ended the Spartans scoring drought with a three from the right wing to give them momentum to finish the game out and keep the Wolverines at a distance.  

Holloman finished leading MSU with a career-high 20 points. Richardson followed with 18 points and Akins with 11 points. Junior forward Jaxon Kohler led in rebounds with seven and redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led in assists with six.  

“Jeremy was really good early. Jace’s really good all the time,” Izzo said. “That second half then Tre came in and really played well.” 

Three Spartan seniors were recognized at the conclusion of the matchup including center Szymon Zapala, forward Frankie Fidler and Akins. MSU also celebrated its recent crowning as the outright 2025 Big Ten Regular Season Champions.  

The banner was raised, the trophy was received and confetti flew. The Spartans finished 17-3 in regular season B1G play.  

MSU now will be preparing for post-season play. They will be traveling to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament which begins on Wednesday.  

“There should be a switch that changes because now we enter one and done time, which means you’re not allowed mistakes,” Izzo said.