On a night that had all eyes on the Spartans, Michigan State basketball needed a huge second half to beat the Wolverines. Down 38-34 at halftime, the Spartans needed a huge second half to beat the Wolverines and they got just that, beating Michigan 75-62.
With the win, the Spartans move into sole possession of first place by 0.5 games, sitting at 13-3 in conference play while Michigan is 12-3 with five games left.
This was one of the gutsier wins the Spartans have had in recent memory.
What did we learn?
1. We may have found two alphas
With the game on the line, who did Michigan State turn to? Contrary to what the experts have said, the Spartans did have two guys who stepped up and looked like the alpha when Michigan State needed points: Tre Holloman and Jase Richardson.
Those two combined for 39 points on 13-of-22 shooting. The Spartans needed everything they contributed and they looked good doing it.
While many experts believe the Spartans don't have "alphas" or "go-to scorers", I'd disagree and say that Holloman and Richardson might just be them.
2. The big situation is a "hot hand" situation
While it's been this way for a while now, the situation in the post might just be a "hot hand" one as Tom Izzo has given the nod to the big guy with the most momentum over the past handful of games.
This time out, it was Carson Cooper.
Jaxon Kohler didn't have a very good game, scoring just two points while Szymon Zapala had zero, but it was Carson Cooper off the bench who played the best defense. He also scored six points with eight rebounds and was much better than his fellow bigs.
3. The Big Ten is Michigan State's to lose
If Michigan State just splits on the road from here on out and takes care of business at home, the Big Ten title will reside in East Lansing.
After losing to Indiana last week at home, I think every Michigan State fan was ready to chock the season up to a "close but no cigar" loss. Well, three straight wins later and the Spartans are in first place in the conference by 0.5 games with four left and if they can go 3-1 from here on out, they will be Big Ten champions. If they go 4-0, they will be outright champs.
But it's not going to be easy.
The conference is in Michigan State's hands right now after this massive win and the NCAA Tournament seeding is improving by the day. Michigan State just beat No. 13 Purdue and No. 12 Michigan this week so expect to see the Spartans to be ranked in the top 10 next week.