Bryn Forbes shot the lights out in the first half as 10th ranked Michigan State cruised past Michigan 89-73.
Forbes connected on 7 of 9 three pointers in the opening 20 minutes and went into the break with a game high 23 points. As a team, the Spartans shot 10 of 14 from beyond the arc (71%) and 16-24 (66.7%) from the field. Michigan had trouble rotating on defense leading to a large majority of those 14 three point attempts being uncontested.
Denzel Valentine paced the first half offense with 12 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds as MSU opened on a 29-11 run before Michigan responded with an 11-4 spurt to cut the deficit to 11.
Michigan State closed on an 11-6 run to give the Spartans a 44-28 edge at the half.
After being held to just 1 point on 0-2 FG in the first half, Matt Costello went to work to start the 2nd half, scoring Michigan State's first six points to help the Spartans balloon the lead to as many as 20 in the opening minutes of the second stanza. Costello would go on to score 13 of his 14 points in the 2nd half including a highlight run-out dunk with 10:28 to go that gave MSU a 69-42 lead and forced a timeout by John Beilein after MSU ripped off 8 straight points.
Forbes took the opening 8 minutes of the second half off before striking once again with his 8th three pointer of the game, one shy of a Crisler Center record. He finished with a game high 29 points.
Michigan State would go on to hit 14 three pointers as a team, one game removed from hitting a school record 17 threes against Rutgers.
Valentine just missed out on a triple double finishing with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
Zak Irvin drained a team high 19 points for Michigan which dropped its 4th straight game in the series.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Final Stats: Click Here
- 4 - Straight game Michigan State has won in the series
- 14 - Three Pointers hit by Michigan State
- 22 - Average margin of victory during MSU's 4 game winning streak after suffering a three game skid
- 30 - Michigan State's largest lead in the second half
- 31 - Total MSU three pointers hit in the last two games including school record 17 vs. Rutgers last weekend
- 64 - FG & 3 point % for MSU
- After Saturday's game, Michigan is now:
- 11-3 in games at the Crisler Center
- 4-2 in Maize jerseys
- 1-7 when trailing at the half
- 10-7 when scoring 79 or fewer points
- 2-7 when allowing 70 or more points
- 11-7 in games decided by 11 or more
- 3-7 when it trails in assists
- 2-7 when it trails in 3pt %
- After Saturday's game, Michigan State is now:
- 6-0 on Saturdays
- 7-1 in Day Games
- 5-2 in road games
- 17-0 when leading at the half
- 20-2 when outrebounding its opponents
- 13-2 in games decided by 11 or more points
- 8-0 when it scores 80 or more points
- 3-4 when it allow 70 or more points
| B1G | |||||
| W | L | GB | STRK | ||
| IND | 9 | 1 | - | W 2 | |
| IOWA | 9 | 1 | - | W 2 | |
| MARY | 10 | 2 | - | W 4 | |
| MSU | 7 | 4 | 2.5 | W 4 | |
| PUR | 7 | 4 | 2.5 | L 1 | |
| MICH | 7 | 4 | 2.5 | L 2 | |
| WIS | 6 | 4 | 3 | W 5 | |
| OSU | 6 | 5 | 3.5 | L 2 | |
| NEB | 5 | 6 | 4.5 | W 1 | |
| NW | 4 | 7 | 5.5 | W 1 | |
| ILL | 3 | 7 | 6 | W 1 | |
| PSU | 2 | 8 | 7 | L 4 | |
| MIN | 0 | 11 | 9.5 | L 12 | |
| RUT | 0 | 11 | 9.5 | L 11 | |
WHAT'S ON TAP...
Purdue continues its quest for a Big Ten Title when the Boilermakers square off with both Michigan and Michigan State in a crucial weak of B1G Hoops. Purdue hosts Michigan State on Tuesday before heading to Ann Arbor for a Saturday afternoon tip on Valentines Day weekend.
Going into Saturday's contest with Maryland, Purdue (19-4, 7-3) had won 4 of its last 5 games and sat in a 4th place tie with Michigan.
A.J. Hammons 14 Points and 8 Rebound a game pace a Boilermakers attack that features 3 players averaging double figures scoring but more importantly, the league's second best scoring defense.
Follow Denny Kapp on Twitter: @DennyKapp