Down 16 in the first half, it looked as if Michigan State basketball was going to fall on the road and Tom Izzo was going to have to wait another game to break the Big Ten record.
The Spartans not only bounced back, but cut it to four points by halftime and then dominated in the second half to win 79-65. They improved to 20-5 on the season and 11-3 in the conference, just one game back from Michigan with two games against the Wolverines remaining.
Michigan State controls its own destiny after Saturday night's win.
What'd we learn?
1. This team can be special
OK, we all lost sight for it for a couple of weeks, but it's clear that team can be special. We all kind of lost sight of the Spartans' start to the season in which they looked unbeatable for about two months, but they got back to the basics and dominated Illinois in the final 15 minutes.
If Michigan State can rebound like it did in the second half and get this decent production out of the bigs while also not settling on threes, it can win the Big Ten and make a deep run.
This team is special, we just lost sight of that over the previous four games.
2. Jaxon Kohler legacy game
Is this the game that Jaxon Kohler gets back on track and sparks him to a hot finish to the season? That remains to be seen, but he was Michigan State's player on Saturday night.
Kohler finished with four threes (!!!) and had 23 points with 10 rebounds and really kept the Spartans in the game when all seemed lost. This was the type of threat Michigan State fans had been begging for all season from post players and they got it.
We finally got a Kohler legacy game. Now let's build on it.
3. Tom Izzo is a legend
Win No. 354. The record is now Tom Izzo's. And it was a fitting win to get there.
Losing three of four games, Izzo knew he needed to go on the road to beat arguably the most talented team in the Big Ten and he did just that to secure the record and keep Michigan State within striking distance of first place in the Big Ten with Purdue coming to town.
Everyone counted Michigan State out and it won on the road against a Quad 1 team. Izzo is not new to this type of win and he proved once again why he's a legend.