Streak snapped: Michigan goes cold in 64-54 loss at Michigan State
Spartan fans congratulate Michigan State players after their 64-54 win over Michigan Sunday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Chris Asadian | AnnArbor.com
EAST LANSING -- The Michigan basketball team entered Breslin Center looking for its first four-game winning streak against Michigan State in more than a decade.
But all the Wolverines found were flat jumpers and one fired-up Spartans defense.
No. 23 Michigan shot just 39.6 percent from the floor and was out-rebounded by 24 as No. 9 MSU earned a regular-season split with a convincing 64-54 victory at the Breslin Center.
"As a team, we didn't really stay together like we should have," Michigan freshman point guard Trey Burke said. "We kind of gave them the game, kind of gave up.
"It's just another lesson to be learned."
The loss snapped Michigan's first three-game winning streak in the series since 1998. The Wolverines have not won two straight games in East Lansing since 1997.
MSU 64, MICHIGAN 54
GOING GREEN
Draymond Green looked pretty healthy and Michigan seemed to leave its offense in Ann Arbor. The MSU senior captain shook off any questions about a knee injury with 14 points and 16 rebounds -- which matched Michigan's entire output as a team. Michigan was outscored 36-20 in the paint.
HARDAWAY’S RUT
Tim Hardaway Jr. hasn't had the best month and a half, but Sunday may have been a low point. Michigan's 6-foot-6 sophomore wing went 1-for-10 from the floor, finishing with a season-low four points. He's now shooting 36.7 percent from the floor in Big Ten play.
REBOUNDING NIGHTMARE
Michigan was annihilated on the glass for 40 minutes, getting out-rebounded 40-16. The Wolverines grabbed just three offensive boards, while Michigan State ripped down 14. Earlier this season in Ann Arbor, Michigan was out-boarded by 13 against MSU, but still managed to win. On Sunday, it wasn't nearly as fortunate.
QUOTE
""As a team, we didn't really stay together like we should have. We kind of gave them the game, kind of gave up. It's just another lesson to be learned."
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For Michigan State, the victory catapulted the Spartans (18-6, 7-3 Big Ten) back in front of the Wolverines (17-7, 7-4) for second place in the Big Ten standings.
And perhaps more importantly, it gave MSU some of its in-state bragging rights back for the first time since 2010.
"They deserved to beat us the other three (times), but hopefully we switched the trend and it'll start going the other way again," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "(Today), it was more about the rivalry than it was the Big Ten (race).
"It was way more about the rivalry."
Michigan's two leading scorers, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Burke, went a combined 5-for-21 from the floor. Burke finished with 11 points, Hardaway, who shot 1-for-10 from the field, had four.
On the flip side, Michigan State senior Draymond Green shook off any questions about lingering knee pain, going for 14 points, 16 rebounds and four assists.
Green's 16 rebounding number equaled Michigan's team total. The Spartans, meanwhile, grabbed 40 boards and went 24-for-46 from the field and out-scored Michigan 36-20 in the paint.
"He has a huge desire," Michigan senior guard Stu Douglass said of Green. "He looked good."
Neither team opened the game with much success on offense, but it was Michigan State's defense that did all the talking during the first 20 minutes.
The Wolverines found no room offensively, and had trouble hanging onto the ball (nine first-half turnovers). It all showed on the scoreboard.
Michigan opened the game 5-of-17 from the floor, and after an inside runner by Brandon Wood with 4:48 to play in the first, Michigan State found itself up 25-11.
Burke gave Michigan slight life with a deep 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer, cutting the Spartans' lead to 30-22 at the break -- but Michigan opened the second half 0-for-5, and MSU got two quick buckets from Adreian Payne and Green to push the lead back up to 12.
Things then went from bad to worse for Michigan three minutes later, as Zack Novak was whistled for the Wolverines' 10th turnover, prompting an argument from Michigan coach John Beilein and a technical foul for his trouble.
Austin Thornton knocked down both foul shots, Keith Appling finished the possession with a runner, the Breslin Center exploded and Michigan State held a 40-26 lead with 14:00 to go.
"They've got some girth inside and some length inside that makes it really, really tough," Beilein said. "They just pound the ball in the post and pound the ball in the post. Some of the teams we've played, we've been able to deal with some of that.
"Today, we couldn't."
Michigan got it under 10 points on three separate occasions during the final eight minutes, but each time, MSU had an answer.
Green created the first two answers with back-to-back buckets before Appling and Derrick Nix notched two straight hoops inside to make it 53-40 with 4:28 left, effectively ending any hopes of a Wolverine comeback.
"They were more of a team than us tonight," Burke said. "Especially down the stretch.
"But it's something we can fix."
Morgan finished with 11 points for Michigan, while Novak ended his day with 14 points before fouling out.
Appling and Branden Dawson each finished with 10 points.
The Wolverines fell to 1-6 on the road this season, and will play four of their final seven regular-season games away from Crisler Center, the first coming Wednesday with a trip to Nebraska.
The loss also marked the second-straight weekend Michigan has fallen by double-digits to a rival on national television, leaving the Wolverines looking for yet another bounce-back performance.
"In Ann Arbor (against Michigan State), we made shots," Beilein said. "Draymond was much better today than he was in Ann Arbor, and that's a big difference.
"We can't get taller, we can't get bigger, and they just smashed us inside and said 'stop this,' and we just couldn't do that today."
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
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Comments
Albee Macaw
Tue, Feb 7, 2012 : 1:17 a.m.
aarox at 10:41 PM on February 5, 2012 your last post was deleted and this one should be too. this team can't match up with MSU/OSU/Wisky yet but is improving. We don't have an inside game yet, but we had several moments today where we used our 3 bomb threat to create easy baskets inside. its a start. We're a top 40-ish team and realize there is a huge gap between the top 5 to the top 15, and another huge gap down into the 20s and 30s. ok, got it. I thought I saw where they were out rebounded 40 to 16 and that Green kid alone out rebounded them. I think he had 16. I just do not understand why your sports teams the majority of the times suck? Your school has a great reputation for the education they provide yet most top athletes avoid the school like the plague. TOSU needless to say is a state school and pretty much in most fields except dentistry your school will provide a better education. And I have seen some of your athletes express themselves and really do not believe the grades standards are that different. Yet TOSU gets the cream of the crop *look at Urbs recruits) and you school gets many that are MAC talent.
15crown00
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 5:32 p.m.
Sorry you lost Little Blues. let the whining begin Sparty,Sparty,Sparty
Mush Room
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 1:26 p.m.
You can get a clue regarding the importance of a game by the price of a scalped ticket. You couldn't find a seat for less than $150. Michigan and State are playing well this season. They may meet again in the B1G tournament and yet again in the NCAA. The Izzone kids got it right yesterday at the end of the game. They were teasing and chanting about yesterday's results, but the basketball rivalry has indeed become "Just like football".
15crown00
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 5:34 p.m.
It's NOT like Football NOTHING is as far as athletics go.
oscar
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 1:16 p.m.
Biggest talent gap by far and kills us against these teams is the Power Forward spot. And don't say we have Novak.. he is a 3 playing the 4 because he is our best option. But to think Evan is a PF in this league is a joke. He can't guard his own shadow... Sigh... How long has B been here and these are options at the PF spot? I know, I know Mitch will be here next year.. but I am getting tired of next year. Will anyone be surprised if we lose at Nebraska?
Wally the Wolverine
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 3:18 a.m.
I think Trey has been reading too many of his press clippings. Seems like he has the belief that it's up to him to take over the game by himself instead of making everyone around him better.
oscar
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 1:13 p.m.
Trey was trying to pound nails into the court with all that dribbling.
mgoblue1997
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 10:55 p.m.
It's time to bench Hardaway. Nothing personal, but he is hurting our team. We need someone else to step up in his place. I believe we we could have won today had he been able to sink a few!
jeff blue
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 10:40 p.m.
Hi All, We did not play well today -- and our coaching was terrible. Everyone could see that Izzo made adjustments from the first game and UM did not. No excuse for that!!! And the rebounding???????? Clearly Trey is a great player, but we do miss Darius Morris in many ways. Last year, we won easily in Breslin. One thing is sure, our remaining schedule is mostly against inferior opposition. We had better win many road games down the stretch now. JEFF
Engineer
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 11:57 p.m.
Jeff you are spot on when it comes to our coaching. We have the same problem with our mens and womens programs. You need the big dogs to run withe the big dogs and we have the mutts from the pound. They try hard but not a lot of winning. Especially on the road. I feel like we will be lucky to get more than 1 more road win and might get zero.
heartbreakM
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 10:38 p.m.
I predicted that UM would win and was way off. M lost this the same way we have lost all the road games. No rebounding, no outside shooting, no Hardaway. I think Hardaway's summer playing has had the effect of making his way too tired at this point and he has little to no game left. But until M can get any type of inside presence, they will continue to struggle on the road and against the top 10-15 games. Still not sold on MSU as a top team, but they have desire, they play GREAT team defense, and rebound extremely well. I'm impressed, but think they are not elite (like Ohio or UNC/Duke). Congrats MSU--you earned that win today. But UM has problems.
aarox
Tue, Feb 7, 2012 : 3:39 a.m.
gak, retract. how soon we forget. i didn't think it was that long :(
aarox
Tue, Feb 7, 2012 : 3:35 a.m.
mananimalanimal, with 64 (65? 68?) teams making the dance, there are very few Division I teams from major conferences that don't get in at least once in 10 years. that's an extremely low bar.
manbearpig
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 7:57 p.m.
the same would be 10 years in a row without making the tourney. It takes a while to grow a program into a consistent tourney contender
15crown00
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 5:36 p.m.
now that's realistic
oscar
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 1:12 p.m.
Heartbreak - Duke has lost two ACC games at home. They are rated where they are at because of hype. Better examples of elite should be KY, Syracuse, Missouri.. I agree UM has problems and we continue to give Coach B a pass. When are we going to demand excellence? It's getting old. Everyone and their brother makes the NCAA (or it seems that way, 37 at large).. And we celebrate it like it's a championship. Lame!! Big Ten titles and Final Fours.. I don't see a path to that goal. It shows that we just want a 'Nice' bball program.. Sorry for the soap box.. just tired of the same.
aarox
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 4 a.m.
ditto. state did not bring their A game.
Albee Macaw
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 10:29 p.m.
Well there is always the NIT. For your team that would signify Naturally Inept Team. Simply a two horse race w/ TOSU and msu. TOSU woman's basketball team could beat these cream puffs. Someone needs to tell this team it is ok to crash the glass. Soft team. Go Bucks
15crown00
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 5:38 p.m.
a little over the top.
aarox
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 3:51 a.m.
also, there are a lot of teams out there, some better than us, that concede the boards to State. the thinking being that they are so good at (1) rebounding, and (2) transition, that you need to pick your poison. UM is not the first good team to decide that there is more to be gained by defending the transition game. and oh by the way, a top 40 team is still a 10 seed at worst. there's no NIT in our future and you already know that. And if they seed basketball like the BCS, we will be a 4 seed :)
aarox
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 3:41 a.m.
your last post was deleted and this one should be too. this team can't match up with MSU/OSU/Wisky yet but is improving. We don't have an inside game yet, but we had several moments today where we used our 3 bomb threat to create easy baskets inside. its a start. We're a top 40-ish team and realize there is a huge gap between the top 5 to the top 15, and another huge gap down into the 20s and 30s. ok, got it.
Engineer
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 10:03 p.m.
Beilien has recruited subpar talent for several years now and the lack of talent shows up in every road game. This team is not adequately equiped to compete in the big ten and have a decent chance to win it. Matta and Izzo have out recruited Beilien for years. We can only hope Brandon fires up the jet and upgrades the situation. An offensive guru, Beilien, some how I do not see it, 35 points 3/4 of the way through a game. Sound s more like a high school score. And not necessarilly a great high school game.
jeff blue
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 10:44 p.m.
We have a pretty good schedule remaining. But we need to win on the road.
K. Washington
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 9:33 p.m.
I think Michigan basketball will get better in the upcoming seasons. They had a great win against MSU a few weeks ago with Denard cheering them on. Maybe my ears were playing tricks on me, but I heard a "Where is Shoelace?" chant coming from a few blood thirsty kids in the MSU student section. I'm glad Denard didn't attend this game because a few seemed quite angry. Oh, well. Get'em next time!
15crown00
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 5:39 p.m.
you wish
ohiowolverine
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 9:29 p.m.
I vote Hardaway as MSU's MVP
braggslaw
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 9:22 p.m.
Michigan was beaten up on the boards and in the paint. They really needs Horford to come back. The feud between Hardaway and Burke needs to end. Burke needs to share the ball more.
jeff blue
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 10:43 p.m.
Burke is only a freshman, but he must become a better team guy. GO BLUE
braggslaw
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 9:40 p.m.
nope, Burke is a being a ball hog and THJ is paying for it.
KeepingItReal
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 9:38 p.m.
The feud isn't between Hardaway and Burke, it's a lack of overall talent.
garrisondyer
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 8:57 p.m.
That game was so horrible to watch. Much like last week's loss to OSU. Can we just get some big guys to rebound the ball please?!
aarox
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 8:54 p.m.
Their big guy couldn't walk earlier this week and outrebounded our whole team? Tell me its not so. I thought we played well enough. For the State-haters, good news is they are going nowhere if they keep playing like they did today. OSU and Wisky will crush them.
redceder1
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 6:42 a.m.
OSU and Wisky will crush us? Reality is we already beat Wisky in Madison. We will see about OSU.
aarox
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 3:30 a.m.
he was not a one leg cripple. obviously.
braggslaw
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 9:40 p.m.
That was pretty embarassing to have a one legged cripple outrebound your entire team.
TFR
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 8:47 p.m.
Nice game Michigan. You have nothing to be ashamed of; you played hard, but it wasn't enough. Go State!