Th No. 3 Michigan Wolverines spoiled Tom Izzo’s 71st birthday, beating the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center, 83-71.
Entering this game, the Wolverines had not won in East Lansing since 2018, and Dusty May did not beat Michigan State in his first two tries last season. The Spartans entered this game with a 19-2 record, coming off a close win at Rutgers earlier this week. With MSU’s only Big Ten loss being to No. 5 Nebraska, Tom Izzo’s squad entered the game with an impressive Big Ten record (9-1)
with a decent chance to win the conference.
Michigan rolled through the first half with excellent defense, taking a 16-point lead into the break. MSU battled back in the second half, erasing Michigan’s large lead over the first 12 game minutes of the second half. But Michigan did just enough late to pick up an impressive win in a hectic environment.
You know what kind of team wins two top-10 games in one week? National championship teams.
Here are four takeaways from the victory.
Lendeborg leads the way
As well-balanced as Michigan can be scoring-wise, you got to rely on your star players in games like this, and Yaxel Lendeborg was up to the task. He led the Wolverines with 12 points in that first half all while playing excellent defense. After forcing a steal early in the second half, he dunked in transition and stared down Jeremy Fears, the only Spartan who could consistently create his own shot.
Lendeborg was active on the offensive glass. helping Michigan get a few extra possessions. He finished with 26 points and was the most impactful player for the Wolverines on both sides of the floor.
Sparty surges in second half, but Michigan plays winning basketball late
Izzo teams are known for excellent defensive execution, but Michigan was the better defensive team in this one.
Michigan held the Spartans to 27 percent shooting in the first half, rotating well and forcing the Spartans to throw some tough passes. MSU turned the ball over 11 times in the first half — four more times than Michigan — and Michigan’s defense caused the majority of those takeaways.
In the second half, Michigan State’s offense woke up a bit, making five of its first nine shots and going on a 9-0 run to get right back into the game. Michigan rested on its laurels a bit, with a Jaxon Kohler three-pointer tying the game at 55 with eight minutes left.
It was back-and-forth after that, with Jeremy Fears getting good looks and knowing them down. Free throws from Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., and a clutch Will Tschetter three-pointer helped Michigan take the lead back. Michigan kept methodically scoring late, a Johnson poster dunk, a big three from Elliot Cadeau and another Lendeborg lay-up gave Michigan a six points lead with two minutes left.
Like we saw in the Nebraska game, Michigan got the buckets it needed and tightened up defensively to beat a good team in the second half.
Another solid game from McKenney
You don’t see many freshmen guards shine in tough road environments like this, but Trey McKenney isn’t your average freshman guard.
McKenney scored eight points in the first half, including two big threes, one of which extended Michigan’s lead to 37-21 and forced a timeout. He also responded well to MSU’s early second-half run with a tough make from the short corner to quiet the crowd. He rushed a few looks from three in the second half, but he finished the game with 10 points off the bench and was one of Michigan’s most reliable options on offense.
I get more and more impressed with McKenney each game. He doesn’t look like a freshman at all, and if he keeps playing as he has in recent weeks, he could be the leading scorer for Michigan in an NCAA Tournament game.
Michigan jumps to an early lead with good execution on both ends
Michigan settled in and got off to a decent start in front of the Spartan faithful. Michigan did what it does best early, going right to the rim and getting easy buckets in the opening minutes off an Aday Mara post move and a Cadeau drive. Threes from Lendeborg and Cadeau and two more buckets inside from Mara gave Michigan an early 15-5 lead, as MSU got off to a cold 2-of-10 start from the field.
Michigan held a double-digit lead for most of the first half, as MSU made only four of its first 18 looks. Michigan played excellent defense early, and the Spartans could not knock down the open shots they did get early on.
The Wolverines weren’t perfect in the half-court early on, but they played good enough defense to make up for it. As we saw during Michigan’s most dominant stretch earlier in the year, good defense helped Michigan jump out to a commanding lead.
Up Next
Michigan will head back to Ann Arbor and host Penn State on Thursday, Feb. 5 (6:30 p.m. on FS1) before heading to Columbus to play Ohio State on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 8, 1 p.m. on CBS).
