A squad from deep Minnesota will visit MSU men’s basketball.
Following their victory against Rutgers on Sunday afternoon, the Michigan State men’s basketball team will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday night at home.
The Golden Gophers have a 12-5 overall record and a 3-3 conference record going into East Lansing. The only team Minnesota has beaten on the road, despite their strong record so far, was the 7–10 Michigan Wolverines.
With the Izzone’s return last Saturday, the Spartans are really good at home, having won nine of their 11 games at the Breslin Centre this season. The Golden Gophers will probably find the Breslin challenging, particularly after a two-game losing streak.
The Spartans are coming in off a 73-55 confidence boost over the Scarlet Knights, while Minnesota is coming in off some difficult defeats.
Michigan State was playing some of its best basketball of the season until suffering back-to-back road defeats to Northwestern and Illinois last week. The squad seemed a bit less confident after the road trip, and they even shown some hesitation as the game versus Rutgers started. By the time the second half began, MSU had regained some of its confidence and was making shots.
Head coach Tom Izzo said at a news conference on Tuesday that he believes this squad to be the finest Minnesota team he has seen in a long time. That explains why they’ve triumphed on the road and in three games. All things considered, we will be a stronger team if we can defend well, rebound well (which we have improved on over the last two games), and run effectively. So, that seems rather straightforward to me.”
The Spartans’ defensive prowess was evident on Sunday afternoon, as they are shooting much better than they did at the beginning of the season. However, the Spartans continue to struggle with perimeter defence, which makes facing Minnesota guard Mike Mitchell Jr. unfavourable.
Mitchell still averages 38.5% from beyond the arc despite his recent struggles.
Guard Elijah Hawkins is another important member of the Golden Gophers squad. Hawkins plays a major role in Minnesota’s operation and leads the country in assists. Due to an ankle injury in Monday’s game against Iowa, Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson reportedly said on Wednesday that Hawkins’ availability to play would depend on the situation at that point in the game, according to Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
Although Minnesota would not be happy losing Hawkins for a game, the Golden Gophers could still contend at the Breslin Centre because of their respectably large bench.
Regarding the Spartans, Izzo said on Tuesday that he expects more from his standout player, guard Tyson Walker, despite the fact that the graduate student is scoring an impressive 19.9 points per game.
“I said to him, ‘You had to improve in two areas,'” recalled Izzo. “One is easy to understand. Put that defensive chip back on your shoulder, please. Because, defensively, he’s been solid, but he was excellent at times as well. That one is thus easy. “Express yourself a little bit more” is the other one. Not only on our team, but across the whole league and among the finest players in the nation, you are one of the best players.”
The East Lansing game will air on FS1 and begin at 6:30 p.m.
Huskers lose against Rutgers 87-82 in overtime.
Rutgers defeated Nebraska 87-82 in overtime on Wednesday night, despite a game-high 22 points from Brice Williams, who led three Huskers in double digits.
With nine minutes left in regulation, Wilcher’s three consecutive 3-pointers put the Huskers (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten) up 63-51. However, the Scarlet Knights rallied in the last ten minutes of regulation. In the last ten seconds, the Huskers had two opportunities to win, but they were unable to seize the opportunity and force an extra session.
In addition to Wilcher’s 12 points and Keisei Tominaga’s 16, Williams ended with 22 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Following a Tominaga 3-pointer to knot the game at 74 in the extra session, Cliff Omoruyi’s score with 2:58 remaining in overtime gave the Scarlet Knights the lead for good. Although Rutgers had a 79-74 lead, the Huskers would not give up. After two 3-pointers by Sam Hoiberg, the last one with 20.9 seconds remaining, NU pulled within 83-82; however, Rutgers’ Noah Fernandes made two free throws to tie the game at three, and Tominaga’s three-pointer with ten seconds remaining was off-target, enabling Rutgers to win.
Aundre Hyatt scored 17 points to lead five Rutgers (10-7, 2-4) players in double figures, while Mawot Mag chipped in with 16. Rutgers outrebounded NU, 56-42, with 25 offensive rebounds that resulted in 20 second-chance points. Omoruyi ended with 14 points and 15 boards.
Both sides scored runs in the first half until the game ended in a tie at 36 all. During the first 20 minutes of the game, Brice Williams led NU with 11 points.
Before a Tominaga 3-pointer and a traditional 3-point play by Jamarques Lawrence ignited a 10-0 Husker run that gave NU a 17-11 lead after a basket by Rienk Mast with 12:42 remaining in the half, the Huskers trailed 11–7.
With 8:51 remaining in the half, Juwan Gary’s 3-pointer helped Nebraska finally increase their lead to 12, making the score 27–15, before Rutgers mounted a comeback. With 5:23 remaining in the half, Eli Rice’s free throw gave the Huskers a 33-25 lead, but Rutgers responded with a 9-0 run of their own to grab a 34-33 advantage. Williams made three free throws on NU’s following possessions, but with 14.1 seconds remaining in the half, Mawot Mag’s putback knotted the score.
Derek Simpson’s 3-pointer put Nebraska down 42–41, but Josiah Allick scored four points in a row to spark a 9–0 run that saw Nebraska take a 50–42 lead after a 3-pointer by Williams.
After a putback by Hyatt, Rutgers closed the gap to 57-51, but Wilcher then made back-to-back 3-pointers to give NU its biggest lead of the half. Sadly, it would be NU’s only field goal of regular time as the Scarlet Knights rallied for an 11-2 run, which included eight consecutive points, to cut the deficit to 65-62 after an Omoruyi slam.
With 1:06 remaining in regulation, Jamarques Lawrence made two free throws to give Nebraska, who had shot 12-of-15 from the free throw line in the second half, a 69-66 lead. Omoruyi scored on Rutgers’ subsequent possession, but he was unable to finish the 3-point play to cut the lead to one point. Omoruyi fouled out with 26.5 seconds remaining, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one. With 19.8 seconds remaining, Hyatt split a pair of free throws to level the game at 69 all, hurting NU as the Scarlet Knights maintained possession.
This Saturday, January 20, Nebraska makes its way back home to play Northwestern at 1:15 p.m. Husker Basketball Alumni Weekend is coming up, and you can get 300 Level tickets by going to Huskers.com or by giving the NU Athletic Ticket Office a call at 800-8-BIGRED.
With thanks to Nebraska Athletics
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