ANN ARBOR – No. 3 Michigan defended home court on senior day with a 90-80 win over No. 8 Michigan State to complete the season series sweep.
MSU held a 61-57 lead with 12:59 remaining, but the offense dried up, while Michigan continued to execute down the stretch.
Spartans head coach Tom Izzo liked his team’s effort, but he pointed out the fact that there were too many mistakes in crunch time.
“You don’t get to make mistakes when you play good teams, and you don’t get to make mistakes when you’re on the road,” Izzo said.
However, Izzo did credit the Wolverines on the win, which capped their regular-season conference championship season.
“I thought our guys hung in there great and just didn’t make the plays. They did make the plays, that’s why they’re 29-2,” Izzo said.
Almost every Izzo answer returned to one key aspect: ball-screen coverages. The Spartans had too many miscues on their screen coverages, something they pride themselves on, and it ended up being the difference in the game.
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg dominated the Wolverines’ scoring in the first half with 19 points. The senior closed with a game-high 27 points and drilled a couple of three-pointers to extend the lead out of reach for the Spartans comeback attempt.
Jaxon Kohler, Jeremy Fears and Carson Cooper combined for 64 points total, but there wasn’t much ancillary scoring for MSU to support its core.
Izzo pointed out the Wolverines’ depth, and that was a big difference as Michigan’s bench outscored MSU, 22-6.
“Last year, we had strength in numbers. We just don’t have the same strength in numbers right now. We got tired, they got better,” Izzo said.
Fears Jr. received another technical foul for a kick after the whistle on Michigan guard Eliot Cadeau.
“I don’t think he did anything on purpose, I think it was a reaction,” Izzo said. “It was a critical play, but I thought Jeremy played his ass off 99 percent of that game.”
The Spartans had more assists, fewer turnovers and more points in the paint; three key aspects that usually tip the scales in the Spartans’ favor when they have the advantage in the trifecta.
With an MSU loss and a Nebraska win, the Spartans fall to the three seed in the Big Ten standings, which gives them a more favorable draw, as they are set to play UCLA instead of Purdue in their first conference tournament game.
The Spartans now have a longer layoff before heading to Chicago to play in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, March 13.
