Michigan
17-7 (7-4)
Michigan State
20-4 (7-4)
U-M Cannot Contain No. 10 Spartans Early in Defeat
2/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2016
» Zak Irvin (19), Aubrey Dawkins (14) and Derrick Walton Jr. (11) scored in double figures for the Maize and Blue.
» U-M, which was without Caris LeVert for the 10th straight game, suffers back-to-back defeats for just the second time this season.
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| Inside Michigan Basketball 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #10 Michigan State 89, Michigan 73
Records: U-M (17-7, 7-4 Big Ten), MSU (20-4, 7-4 Big Ten)
Attendance: 12,707
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Feb. 10 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 8 p.m. CST [ TV: BTN ]
• Kornacki Postgame Feature: Shorthanded Wolverines Still Looking for Consistency
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team suffered a 89-73 loss at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans (No. 10 AP, No. 10 Coaches) on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 6) inside the Crisler Center.
The Spartans were red hot from behind the three-point line in the first half, connecting on 10-of-14 shots from downtown in route to a 44-28 halftime lead. MSU's Bryn Forbes scored 23 first-half points and 29 overall. Michigan scored 20 points in the final five minutes of the game, but the 16-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome.
The Maize and Blue made 26-of-58 shots (44.8 percent) from the floor and was just 28.6 percent from three-point range. Michigan State made 32-of-50 (64 percent) from the field, including 14-of-22 (63.6 percent) from beyond the arc. Junior guard Zak Irvin led Michigan in scoring with 19 points, while sophomore guard Aubrey Dawkins had 14, and junior guard Derrick Walton Jr. added 11 points.
The Spartans struck first courtesy of a Forbes triple, but Walton answered immediately for the Wolverines, draining a three-pointer on the wing to give Michigan its first points. On the next possession, Irvin used a head fake to beat his man to the bucket for an easy layup to make the score 5-3.
Michigan State then scored eight unanswered points to re-take the lead, 11-5, with 15:30 to play. Junior forward Mark Donnal responded for the Wolverines, shrugging off three defenders to pull and an offensive rebound and score inside.
The Spartans began to take control, rattling off an 18-4 scoring run with effective long-distance shooting to stretch their lead to 29-11 with 8:04 to play in the half. Michigan cut the deficit down to 11 with a little more than four minutes to play in the half after Irvin got to the rim for a layup, but the Spartans answered with five straight points to make it 38-22 with 1:28 remaining.
The final minute of the first half was a shooting duel between Forbes and Walton. Walton knocked down a three in the corner, and Forbes answered with a triple from the wing. Walton came right back with a long ball from the opposite wing with a hand in his face, but Forbes countered with another three, sending the teams into the intermission with Michigan State leading, 44-28.
Irvin got the scoring started in the second half with a pull-up three from the wing, and junior/sophomore Duncan Robinson added a layup after beating his defender down the baseline. The Spartans answered every Michigan bucket, and an 11-2 scoring run for the visitors stretched the margin to 67-42 at the 10:44 mark.
Later, redshirt freshman forward D.J. Wilson took a pass inside, made two defenders collide in mid-air with a great pump fake and finished with an easy layup. Three minutes later, Dawkins connected on a three-pointer, then junior guard Andrew Dakich converted an old-fashioned three-point play, drawing a foul after scooping in a layup with his left hand. Sophomore forward Kameron Chatman provided the game's final points, splashing a transition three just before the buzzer.
U-M will be on the road next week, traveling to Minnesota for a mid-week clash with the Golden Gophers. The Wolverines look to complete the season sweep of Minnesota after coming away with a 74-69 victory in the last matchup between the teams. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. with coverage on Big Ten Network.
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73 | 89 |
• The Michigan vs. Michigan State basketball rivalry dates back to Jan. 9, 1909. Michigan remains ahead in the all-time series, 97-80, including a 60-30 home record. The Spartans hold a 6-5 edge in the last 11 meetings.
• In U-M's 12 Big Ten games, the Wolverines have 188 free throw attempts, averaging 15.7 per game. U-M was 13-for-16 (81.2 percent) from the free throw line today.
• The Wolverines have five players with 25-plus three-point field goals made -- Duncan Robinson (73), Derrick Walton Jr. (43), Aubrey Dawkins (36), Zak Irvin (32) and Caris LeVert (29).
• Ten different players scored for Michigan, with three players achieving double digits -- Zak Irvin (19), Aubrey Dawkins (14) and Derrick Walton Jr. (11).
• The Wolverines forced 19 turnovers from the Spartans, while U-M only had nine. Michigan has had fewer than 10 turnovers in 10 games this season.
• Michigan recorded a season-high 11 steals, hitting double-digit steals for the second time this season, while MSU posted just four steals.
• Zak Irvin has 77 total assists in 24 games this season, averaging 3.2 per game, after combining for 62 total assists in his first two seasons (69 games).
• In Tuesday night's game against Indiana, Zak Irvin surpassed former teammate Nik Stauskas (2013-14) for eighth place in U-M history for all-time career three-pointers (169). With his two three-pointers, Irvin closes in on seventh-place LaVell Blanchard's 189 all-time triples (2000-03).
• For the first time since the season opener, Duncan Robinson was held without a three-pointer, going 0-for-3 from long range. Previously, he had strung together 22 straight games with at least one three-pointer.
• Aubrey Dawkins (8), Andrew Dakitch (3), D.J. Wilson (5) and Cameron Chatman (5) helped close the Wolverine gap in the last five minutes of the game, putting up 21 points combined during that stretch.
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot
