Aidan Champion, Michigan State Spartans On SI

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No. 14 Michigan State came into Ann Arbor and left with a win, vanquishing the Wolverines, 75-62, to take back first place in the Big Ten.

It was a dominant second half from the Spartans, who outscored Michigan by 17 after trailing by 4 at halftime.

Once again, Michigan State was able to pull away with a major run to end the game, leaving no doubt as it conquered its most hated rival.

Spartans coach Tom Izzo addressed the media after the game.

You can watch below:

Below is a transcript from Izzo’s opening statement:

Izzo: “I’ve had a chance to do a lot of things in my career, but not sure I’ve ever had a seven-day span like the one we just had. And most of the credit should go to my assistant coaches and my players. The job they did with the quick turnarounds and what we went through was unbelievable. We beat a damn good team today. They are hard to guard. They missed some shots, too. I thought the first half, we were awful, and we only had one guy, Jase, that played well, and when I went into halftime, I said we had a chance because I thought we’d be about 15 down the way we played, and then, maybe they didn’t make some shots, although, they shot 53%, but the turnovers we had that led to touchdowns were ridiculous. And so, we felt like if we could just do a few things, move the ball a little better, make a couple shots, which for us to make that many 3s was a miracle the way we’ve been shooting lately. But I really felt like Trey Holloman did a hell of a job and Jase Richardson was unbelievable. And we got lucky. Jeremy [Fears Jr.] banks in his in a shot. We got lucky. And they missed a couple of shots that I think they normally hit. So, well-coached team. They changed it up on us; went zone and man. But I thought our guys responded after a couple tough runs.”

Next on the Spartans’ schedule is No. 20 Maryland, which they will also face on the road. That game is set for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.