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  • Malik Hall and No. 19 Michigan State Take Down Minnesota in the Big Ten Opener, 75-67

Malik Hall and No. 19 Michigan State Take Down Minnesota in the Big Ten Opener, 75-67

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Basketball

No. 19 Michigan State put four players in double figures and opened up a 19-point lead in the second half before hanging on to beat Minnesota, 75-67, in the Big Ten Conference opener for both schools at Williams Arena Wednesday night.

It was the eighth win in the last nine games for the Spartans, who improved to 8-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. Minnesota falls to 7-1 overall and 0-1 in league play.

The Spartans had three players each score 15 points, with junior forward Malik Hall (Aurora, Ill./Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]) finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists, senior forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) with 15 points and eight rebounds and junior guard Tyson Walker (Westbury, N.Y./Christ the King/Northeastern) had a season-high 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, while redshirt senior Joey Hauser (Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point/Marquette) finished with 10 points seven rebounds and two assists.

Recap

  • Michigan State had a 13-point lead at halftime (37-24) and took its biggest lead at 19 points (60-41) near the mid-point of the second half.
  • Minnesota, however, scored seven-straight points to cut the margin to 12 points and that was part of a larger 14-4 run over 3:56 as the Golden Gophers pulled to within 64-55 on a dunk from Sean Sutherlin with 3:59 left.
  • Brown came back with a key 3-pointer from the corner to push the lead back to 67-55 with 3;08 on the clock.
  • Minnesota pulled to within six points, 73-67, with 30 seconds left, but MSU connected on 6-of-6 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
  • The Spartans led by 13 points, 37-24 at the break, and used a 9-4 burst over the opening 2:55 to take a 46-28 lead on a fast break layup from Walker at the 17:05 mark as Minnesota called a timeout.
  • The Golden Gophers would cut the margin to 11 points, 48-37, but the Spartans responded with a 12-4 run and took their biggest lead of the game, 60-41, on a Walker layup with 9:36 to play.
  • MSU had jumped out a 6-2 lead early after a three-point play and a 3-pointer from Walker and widened the gap to 16-8 on free throws from Brown with 12:11 to play.
  • Minnesota pulled to within 17-15 after a 3-pointer from Jamison Battle and trailed by four points, 23-19 following a driving layup from Payton Willis with 5:48 left.
  • Michigan State responded with a 7-0 run, with Hauser hitting a trey, followed by baskets from Hall and freshman guard Max Christie (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows), giving MSU a 30-19 lead and forcing the Gophers to call a timeout.
  • A pull-up jumper from Brown with 31 seconds left gave the Spartans a 37-24 lead at the break. 

Key Stats

  • The Spartans out-rebounded Minnesota, 44-29.
  • The Spartans connected on 48.1 percent of their field goals (25-of-52) and hit 47.6 percent of their 3-pointers (10-of-21).
  • Michigan State limited Minnesota to 39.7 percent shooting from the floor (27-of-68), including just 26.1 percent from 3-point land (6-of-23).
  • The Spartans committed 13 turnovers, but eight came in the second half and 11 of Minnesota's 13 points off turnovers came during the final 20 minutes.
  • Walker's early three-point play proved to be the only lead change of the game.

Notes

  • Michigan State leads the all-time series with Minnesota, 74-61.
  • The Spartans have won six of the last seven meetings and nine of the last 11.
  • MSU is 28-37 all-time in Minneapolis and has won five of the last six games at Williams Arena.
  • The win was the 312th all-time Big Ten Conference win for Head Coach Tom Izzo, who is second all-time among conference coaches (Bob Knight, Indiana, 353).
  • Izzo is now 17-10 all-time in Big Ten Conference openers, including an 8-9 record in league road openers.
  • MSU out-rebounded its opponent for the seventh times this season.
  • Michigan State out-scored Minnesota, 20-10, in bench points; the seventh time this season the bench had more points than its opponent and the eighth time with at least 20 points.
  • Gabe Brown scored 15 points, the ninth time in 10 games this season he has reached double figures.
  • Malik Hall scored 15 points, his fourth game in double figures this season.
  • Tyson Walker scored 15 points, his second-straight game in double figures after scoring 11 points against Toledo.
  • Joey Hauser scored 10 points, his second game in double figures this season.
  • Max Christie blocked a career-high three shots.

Up Next
Michigan State returns to the Breslin Center for its Big Ten Conference home opener on Saturday, Dec. 11, hosting Penn State (BTN, 2 p.m.).