On a night with everything to play for, Michigan came up empty at home against Michigan State. The Wolverines had the Crisler Center crowd rocking midway through the first half but fell flat in the second.
Michigan State won the start to both halves and hit shots when it mattered. The Spartans tightened their defense in the second half and hit 6-of-12 threes to pull away. Michigan sputtered to the finish line, scoring 24 points and making 1-of-10 triples in the final 20 minutes.
Michigan’s first-place hold on the conference and perfect home record went out the door in two hours. And the harsh reality of having five games left to play in the next 15 days dawned as the Wolverines’ six-game winning streak was snapped.
The story of the night was game control.
Michigan was at its best when the game was fast and loose. The Wolverines were able to force some turnovers, push the tempo, and get out in transition for a large chunk of the first half.
That evaporated in the second half. Michigan State turned it over nine times in the first and twice in the second half. Michigan’s offense couldn’t run, and it started to bog down in the half-court. To compound problems, some of Michigan’s best actions ended with non-shooting fouls that the Spartans were happy to give away.
With few turnovers, long possessions, offensive rebounds, and a few extra fouls, Michigan State slowed the game to a crawl. In the second half, there were only 30 possessions, and Michigan State hit threes on five of them.
The Wolverines want to play in flow, and they never found it in the second half.
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