Second-half surge powers Michigan State past rival Michigan, into Big Ten lead

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Feb 21, 2025

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The play was intense. The atmosphere was electric. The stakes were high.

In a rivalry clash with first place in the Big Ten on the line, No. 14 Michigan State rode a big performance from its backcourt and a strong second half past No. 12 Michigan for a 75-62 win on Friday at Crisler Center.

Jase Richardson scored 21 and Tre Holloman 18 for Michigan State (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten), which has won four of the last five meetings in the rivalry series.

The win pushed Michigan State past Michigan in the conference standings and gave the Spartans a half-game lead with two weeks left in the regular season.

Following a first half in which both teams led by as much as eight, Michigan State seized control after a brief back-and-forth start to the second half. A pair of 3-pointers from Richardson and Jeremy Fears Jr. put Michigan State up two. Vlad Goldin answered with two buckets in the paint to put Michigan back in front.

The Spartans countered with three baskets at the rim, the last on an outlet pass to Richardson, whose spin and finish in transition made it 46-42 and forced a Michigan timeout with 13:13 left in the second half.

Michigan pulled within one on a 3-pointer by Nimari Burnett before Michigan State began to gain some separation. Holloman caught fire and drained three 3-pointers in a 90-second span. One came after an offensive rebound. Another came on a step-back over Danny Wolf to make it 57-49 with 10:49 to play.

The Spartans took the Wolverines out of their offensive rhythm and put them on the ropes. A downhill drive and finish by Fears gave Michigan State a 62-51 lead with 7:52 remaining.

Michigan responded with an 8-0 spurt fueled by its big men. Wolf scored on an offensive put-back and found Goldin for a dunk. Goldin scored on another put-back through contact to make it a one-possession game, 62-59, at the 5:37 mark.

Richardson stuffed Michigan’s momentum and quieted the crowd. He found an opening in the middle of Michigan’s zone and knocked down a floater. The Wolverines never got any closer the rest of the way.

Fears provided the dagger, banking in a 3-pointer following a Michigan turnover, before Jaden Akins capped a 9-0 run over the final four minutes with a steal and fast-break dunk.

Goldin finished with 21 points and Burnett scored 12 for Michigan (20-6, 12-3), which saw its six-game win streak and unbeaten record at home come to an end.

Akins scored 11 and Fears 10 for Michigan State, which won the rebounding battle (34-25) and turned 14 offensive boards into 15 second-chance points.

The two rivals will meet again in the regular-season finale on March 9 in East Lansing.

As the two fan bases traded chants as the ball tipped off, Michigan State jumped out to an early lead by leaning on its strengths — crashing the offensive glass and getting out in transition.

A turnover on Michigan’s opening possession was followed by a 3-pointer by Richardson. A missed lob connection between Wolf and Goldin led to a Coen Carr alley-oop slam on a fast break. The Spartans doubled up the Wolverines, 16-8, with 12:53 left in the first half.

Michigan roared back with an 18-2 burst over a five-minute stretch. During one sequence, Wolf rattled in a 3-pointer, Roddy Gayle Jr. stripped the ball away from Jaxon Kohler and Wolf dished a behind-the-back pass to Gayle that resulted in a three-point play.

During the flurry, Michigan took its first lead when Rubin Jones knocked down a runner in the lane at the 10:07 mark and Burnett capped a string of 15 unanswered points with a 3-pointer. Then after Tre Holloman snapped a scoring drought that lasted nearly six minutes for Michigan State with two free throws, Will Tschetter put the finishing touches on the spurt with a deep ball to put Michigan up 26-18 at the 7:01 mark.

Despite going seven minutes without a made basket, Michigan State stayed close. After Holloman ended the lengthy field goal drought with a deep jumper, Carr soared in for a put-back dunk. A technical foul on Michigan coach Dusty May followed the play and Holloman split two free throws to make it 26-23.

The Wolverines pushed the lead back to eight, but the Spartans ended the half by making five of their last seven shots to cut it to 38-34 at the break.