No. 8 Michigan State tops No. 17 Michigan 79-62, winning the 18-school Big Ten title by 3 games

EAST LANSING, Mich.—Tre Holloman scored a career-high 20 points, Jase Richardson had 18 points and No. 8 Michigan State beat No. 17 Michigan 79-62 on Sunday.

With 37.2 seconds left, the rivals pushed and shoved one another at center court, where the Wolverines players were standing near the spot where Spartans seniors have kissed the logo before walking off the court in their final home game at Breslin Center since 1995.

The Spartans (26-5, 17-3 Big Ten) closed the regular season with seven straight wins, including five against AP Top 25 teams.

Michigan State won the Big Ten’s first basketball title with 18 teams by three games over the Wolverines and No. 13 Maryland.

Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo has won 11 Big Ten titles, tying the record Purdue’s Ward “Piggy” Lambert set in 1990 and Indiana’s Bob Knight matched in 1993.

The Wolverines (22-9, 14-6) have lost a season-high three consecutive games.

Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin had 29 points and Danny Wolf didn’t help offensively until it was too late, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the second half.

Takeaways

Michigan: Coach Dusty May’s debut has been better than expected, but the Wolverines are playing their worst basketball of the season at the wrong time.

Michigan State: Izzo’s 30th team was expected to be average in the Big Ten and has surpassed expectations.

Key moment

Richardson made a 3-pointer with 8:56 left, ending Michigan’s 14-0 run to put Michigan State up by 14.

Key stat

The Spartans turned the game into a rout during the first half, converting Michigan’s 11 turnovers into 18 points to lead 50-28.

Up next

Michigan State will be the top-seeded team at the Big Ten Tournament and Michigan will be among the four teams with two byes that will play Friday in Indianapolis.