Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Basketball: Highlights, top performers vs. Minnesota

By Connor Muldowney

Mar 10, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) dribbles the ball as Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Jordan Murphy (3) defends in the first half during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) dribbles the ball as Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Jordan Murphy (3) defends in the first half during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Michigan State basketball finished its Big Ten Tournament run on Friday against Minnesota with a 63-58 loss.

While Michigan State basketball remains the only team to have made it to Friday of the Big Ten Tournament in each of the 20 years it’s been around, the Spartans didn’t get to advance to the finals for the third straight season.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions for March

Tom Izzo knew Minnesota was going to be tough to beat three times in one season and that the Gophers were. The Spartans shot poorly from the floor while Minnesota out-toughed them in the final minutes of the game to pull out a five-point win. Will the Spartans still be dancing on Sunday?

Take a look at the highlights and top performers from Friday afternoon’s loss to the Golden Gophers.

Three Stars

Despite the fact that he was jacking up way too many threes at the end of the game, Miles Bridges put on a show for the Spartans. In fact, he scored 20 of the Spartans’ 58 points and added four highlight jams in the process. He also had seven rebounds, two assists and a block.

Nick Ward suspiciously vanished late in the second half yet again because of Tom Izzo’s teaching of lessons. He had 15 points and 11 rebounds — seven of those were offensive.

It was extremely tough to pick a third star, so it’ll go to Josh Langford by default. He finished with six points, two assists and two rebounds.

Highlights

Key Stats

  • Michigan State managed to out-rebound Minnesota, 41-36.
  • The Spartans’ bench shot just 3-for-15 from the floor and finished with only eight points.
  • A day after holding Penn State to a mediocre shooting percentage, Michigan State made just 33 percent of its shots.
  • Michigan State was 6-of-30 from 3-point range.
  • The Spartans had just 10 assists to 12 turnovers.
  • Nick Ward finished with seven offensive rebounds and the Spartans had 19 as a team, as opposed to Minnesota’s 12.

Related Story: MSU Recruiting: Top 7 remaining 2018 basketball targets

What’s Next?

Michigan State will have to wait until Sunday to hear its fate for the NCAA Tournament. While many consider the Spartans a ‘lock’ to get in, it’s still going to be interesting to see which region and who the first round opponent will be. Will the Spartans get a play-in game?

Home/Spartans Basketball