Photo: Dale Young ~ IMAGN IMAGES
EAST LANSING, Jan. 28, 2025 ~ #7 Michigan State basketball (18-2) led the entire game, only giving up 16 points in the first half on the way to a 73-51 victory Tuesday night over Minnesota (11-10) at the Breslin Center. The double-digit victory marks the 13th in a row for the Spartans and the ninth straight Big Ten win, staying undefeated in conference play this year.
Junior point guard Tre Holloman led the green and white in scoring, hitting four three pointers for a total of 12 points. After the team struggled to get the shots from beyond the arc to fall early in the first half, Holloman hit three straight near the end of the first 20 minutes to help get out of the lull.
Senior guard Jaden Akins and sophomore forward Xavier Booker followed with 10 points respectively, while fellow sophomore forward Coen Carr may have posted his most impressive dunk of the season near the end of the night.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
ANOTHER COEN CARR POSTER ON THE YEAR @coencarr2 x @MSU_Basketball pic.twitter.com/CCME5jT9k8
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 29, 2025
(CONTINUED) Freshman guard Jase Richardson did more than just get the ball to Carr on the dunk though. He led all players in assists with eight, turning the ball over zero times.
MSU dominated the rebound battle all night long, taking a 40-22 advantage after the final buzzer. Junior center Carson Cooper led the way with 11 boards to go with nine points and three blocks while junior forward Jaxon Kohler recorded seven rebounds to complement an eight point effort. Michigan State totaled 13 total offensive rebounds, resulting in the same amount of second-chance points.
“I felt like they did a good job sending people back, but getting 40 rebounds compared to 22 is a good stat,” head coach Tom Izzo told WJR Correspondent Nick Lundberg after the game. “I thought early Szymon did a good job, getting four offensive rebounds in the first six minutes.”
While the first half was very lopsided in favor of the Spartans, the second turned out to be stagnant. Golden Gopher senior forward Dawson Garcia continued his strong season, scoring 21 points and grabbing five rebounds.
With the win, Izzo is now one victory shy of tying Bob Knight’s all-time conference win record at 653.
Next up for MSU is a West Coast road trip to USC and UCLA to kick off the month of Feb. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 at USC.
TOP 760 WJR STORIES:
