No. 19 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play with 75-67 Win at Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minn. – 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.).

No. 19 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play with 75-67 Win at Minnesota

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Team Stats

Tyson Walker

Malik Hall

Gabe Brown

Joey Hauser

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

Tyson Walker

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

Tyson Walker

No. 19 Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play with 75-67 Win at Minnesota

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Team Stats

Game Leaders

Tyson Walker

Malik Hall

Gabe Brown

Joey Hauser

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Joey Hauser

Tyson Walker

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Max Christie

Malik Hall

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