The #21 ranked Michigan Wolverines traveled to the Izzone at Michigan State to face the #3 ranked Spartans. The young and slowly building Wolverines had just beaten the previous ranked #3 Wisconsin Badgers, and then the #10 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. So, traveling to the Brezlin Center was not an easy task for probably a tired Wolverine squad. But nevertheless they did not play like a worn out tired team.
With four minutes left Michigan and Michigan State were all notched at 60, until Michigan's Nik Stauskus hit a three and led Michigan to get up 68-60, and they never looked back. Winning the game 80-75.
This game was the first time that two teams from the Big Ten played when they were 6-0 or better in the Big Ten. And with two ranked teams, and rivals, it did not disappoint. These two teams will get a lot of talk come tournament time, but this loss for the Spartans will be a little bit of a set back. For the Wolverines, this is a huge jump forward, especially after their struggling start. This streak against ranked opponents will get them back on the track they were hoping to be on at the start of the year. It will be interesting to see if they can hold this streak for a large part of the rest of the season. Their schedule doesn't get much easier in the next couple weeks.
Some of the main contributors to this game were Gary Harris of the Spartans who put up 27 points and got five boards. Alvin Ellis III also put up 12 points for the Spartans off the bench. For the Wolverines, Nik Stauskus and Derrick Walton Jr both scored 19 points. Caris LeVert also scored 17. The Wolverines shot 57.9% from beyond the arch, while the Spartans 41.2%. The Wolverines also out shot the Spartans 83.3% to 69.6% from the line. The Spartans fouled six more times than the Wolverines, and for a team who was better from the line, that is always a plus.
Is it safe to say that on this given occasion, the Wolverines were just better than the Spartans? Not a better team, just on Saturday.
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