It wasn't pretty and it felt like the game lasted four years, but Michigan State basketball picked up an important win over Penn State on Wednesday night to improve to 15-2 and 6-0 in the Big Ten.
Michigan State was long overdue for one of these "will it ever end?" games and it finally happened on Wednesday as Penn State overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to make things interesting down the stretch. Right when it looked like Jaden Akins' and-one ended the game, Penn State came down and drilled a three, because of course.
Fortunately, that three to make it 87-83 in the final seconds was as close as it would get as the Spartans hung on for a 90-85 win.
This 10-game winning streak is now the Spartans' longest since 2018.
What did we learn?
1. There's no such thing as an "easy" win in the Big Ten
We already knew this, but as Tom Izzo would say, the Spartans got "fat and sassy" and so did the fans. We all expected another blowout win which has become the norm for this team in conference play with the closest victory in five tries before Wednesday night being by seven points.
Now the closest win is five points.
Penn State battled the Spartans all night long and honestly put up a heck of a fight, giving Michigan State the toughest test it's seen in weeks. The Spartans were in control all night and didn't surrender the lead, but it just felt like Penn State had that upset gene and just couldn't close the deal.
Hopefully this is a wakeup call because this one was way too close for comfort.