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EAST LANSING – C & # 39; was there for taking.
The first Big Ten title in five years. A win over a rival on his court during his senior night.
For a while, Michigan basketball seemed to have stopped.
The Wolverines led from the initial possession and took a six-point lead at half-time.
And then with just over 10 minutes in the second half, everything falls apart.
The U-M offensive became cold and Cassius Winston set to work. MSU scored on eight possessions in a row, taking a decisive advantage.
The Wolverines never sniffed their heads again.
The Spartans proved that they were the best team for the second time of the season with a 75-63 win.
The formula was remarkably similar to the first match.
Michigan guard David DeJulius passes Michigan State striker Xavier Tillman in the first half on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. (Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)
U-M could not attack the inverted screen inconsistencies. The Wolverines have settled for too many one-on-one games on the perimeter; Xavier Tillman, meanwhile, was eating discs and finished with five blocks.
Nevertheless, Michigan had a lot of chances to win the match.
Two forced turnovers on the Michigan State's two initial possessions led to five U-M quick points.
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Ignas Brazdeikis hit a couple of three seconds and attacked the rim switches, making his first five shots and scoring 12 points in the first period; he finished with a team top of 20.
The defense, which relied mainly on center Jon Teske in the first game, changed screens and smothered Cassius Winston. Michigan State scored 0.906 points per possession in the first half and returned nine times, three more than in the first game overall.
U-M has reduced the lead to 10 or more on four different occasions.
And then, the game is stopped script.
More from Seidel: Michigan had against the state of Michigan, then they blew it up
Brazdeikis, Isaiah Livers and Jon Teske were all limited by big problems; Brazdeikis and Livers watched the last 10 minutes of the session with two fouls each, while Teske saw 12 minutes after a first foul. Brazdeikis would subsequently be at fault.
John Beilein had to empty an already exhausted bench – Charles Matthews was in uniform but was not playing because he was recovering from an ankle injury – and was receiving unexpected face contributions.
Eli Brooks hit his first 3 since December 30th. David DeJulius scored in transition while being the victim of a foul. Colin Castleton and Brandon Johns played 19 minutes in the first half.
The bench unit extended the lead to 12 with 3:12 to play in the half. But MSU finished the half-day with a 6-0 record, despite Winston being in the final at 7:34 with two fouls.
Without their captain, the Spartans could easily have been in a hole. But they managed to get out of it and when Winston came back, the offense immediately caught fire.
After a Brazdeikis 3 that gave Michigan a 48-40 lead with 13:57 left, Michigan State snatched a 25-4 run over the 7:27 that followed.
The game was decided in these seven minutes. Michigan could not score, and that just could not stop Winston, who finished with 23 points, a top in the game.
He diced the Wolverines' screen defense. He opened passes for the 3, collided with a fleet of floters and runners. When Michigan sent two defenders behind him, he launched a driveway to Tillman that almost destroyed the entire house.
When all was over, the Michigan State Elders had the opportunity to address the crowd and soaked up at the last second.
It was a moment they will surely remember all their lives.
For the visiting team, Saturday's loss will not have the same resonance. It could have been, and it was like that for the first 30 minutes.
But the Wolverines just did not have enough.
Contact Orion Sang at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Learn more about the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.
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