The Michigan Wolverines were able to exact some revenge against their in-state rivals from East Lansing, taking down the Spartans at Crisler Center by a 77-68 final score and splitting the season series.
Michigan State didn’t do themselves any favors with their slow start, scoring only three points in the game’s first eight minutes; comeback efforts fell short in the second half.
http://gty.im/1096186106
Afterwards, head coach Tom Izzo lamented the underwhelming start his team displayed.
“Our start was poor, our middle was really good, our end was poor and Michigan played good,” he said.
Izzo then had an eye-opening explanation as to why his team wasn’t able to start on time.
“When we get close like that and cut big leads because of our poor start, it’s almost like we go brain dead then and that’s got to change, he said”
Though the Spartans were able to cut Michigan’s lead to one point multiple times in the second half, they weren’t able to overcome the deficit. Senior Cassius Winston said as much:
“We didn’t make those shots that you need,” he said. “When you get it to one, you know you’ve got to get a run, you’ve got put some shots together.”
– – Quotes courtesy of Matt Wenzel of MLive Link – –
