University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Michigan State
Golden Gophers Fall to MSU, 68-52
1/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2012
Blog: Observations from the Game | BTN Video Highlights
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo reached a milestone Wednesday night, as his 11th-ranked Spartans held off a second-half rally by Minnesota during a 68-52 victory at the Breslin Center.
Izzo became just the fourth coach in Big Ten men's basketball history to record 400 wins at one school, joining Indiana's Bob Knight (662), Purdue's Gene Keady (512), and Illinois' Lou Henson (423) on the exclusive list.
Minnesota trimmed a 13-point MSU lead to just five points, 46-41, midway through the second half, but Draymond Green and the Spartans played hard to get the big win for Izzo and pulled away from the Gophers down the stretch.
With the win, Michigan State (17-4, 6-2) snapped Minnesota's three-game winning streak, as the Gophers fell to 15-6 overall and 3-5 in the conference. Not counting vacated seasons, Minnesota hasn't won in East Lansing since a 79-74 victory on Feb. 1, 1990.
Junior forward Rodney Williams made 6-of-10 field goals, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, to lead the Gophers with 15 points. But the rest of the team combined to make just 12-of-37 (.324) field goals, as the Gophers were held to their lowest point total since scoring 48 points in a 53-48 loss to the Spartans at Williams Arena on Feb. 22, 2011.
Senior forward Ralph Sampson III was the only other Minnesota player to reach double-digits, finishing with 10 points. Freshman guard Joe Coleman continued his strong play of late, as he had nine points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Julian Welch also had nine points, while being credited for four assists.
But Green was the driving force for Michigan State, as he led all players with 22 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. He was 9-of-11 from the field, helping the Spartans shoot 54.2 percent (26-of-48) despite a 2-of-11 effort from long-range. Branden Dawson added 16 points and four blocked shots for MSU.
The Spartans hit four of their first six field goal attempts to jump out to an 8-3 lead, but Williams made his first two attempts from beyond the arc to cut it to 8-6, and Sampson tied it with a layup.
After MSU pulled in front by four, Williams added to his point total with an impressive tip-in dunk to give him eight of the Gophers' first 10 points.
Sophomore guard Chip Armelin scored to keep Minnesota within two points, 16-14, but the Spartans started to pull away by going on a 7-0 run to make it 23-14 before Armelin drove the lane to end the run.
Trailing 32-19, the Gophers went on an 8-2 run, highlighted by six points from Welch, to pull back within seven points. But Green ended the half by hitting a last-second three-pointer with Williams in his face to give the Spartans a 37-27 lead at the break.
Michigan State was able to maintain its double-digit lead well into the second half, and held a 46-33 advantage following a layup by Dawson with 13:48 remaining.
But the Gophers turned up the intensity at the defensive end of the court, going on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 46-41. Sampson scored four points during the run, including a pair of free throws, as Minnesota reached the bonus with more than 10 minutes left.
That was as close as Minnesota was able to get, though, as the Spartans responded with an 11-3 run to pull back in front by 13 points and then extend their lead to as many as 19 points in the final minutes.
Minnesota returns home to play host to Illinois on Saturday night, as the Gophers will try to avenge a double-overtime setback to the Illini on Dec. 27. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. (CT), and the game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
--By Michael Molde, GopherSports.com
