Gophers Hang with Top-Ranked Spartans But Lose 69-61
January 2, 2016

With what coach Tom Izzo called a “patchwork” lineup, the Michigan State Spartans avoided a second consecutive conference loss and beat the Minnesota Gophers 69-61.

Senior point guard Denzel Valentine, who leads Michigan State in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals, missed his third straight game after arthroscopic knee surgery December 21. Forward Marvin Clark Jr. was out with a hand injury, and another forward, Jevon Bess, played only three minutes against the Gophers as he recovers from a bad thumb.

Michigan State, which won all 13 of its non-conference games, still came into the game ranked first in the country by both Associated Press and the USA Today coaches’ ranking, although it will likely lose that spot after a loss in its Big Ten opener, against Iowa, and a less-than-dominating win over struggling Minnesota, which fell to 6-8 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn took Valentine’s spot in the backcourt and led both teams with seven assists while turning over the ball only once. Another guard, Bryn Forbes, had a game-high 20 points. The difference-maker up front was senior Matt Costello, who scored 17 and had 15 rebounds, the only player on either team to reach double-figures in that category.

Izzo stayed calm during the game, occasionally raising from his stool on the elevated floor at Williams Arena to do some pacing, even though it wasn’t until midway through the second half that the Spartans were able to open a double-digit lead over the Gophers.

That edge nearly disappeared, and when Nate Mason of the Gophers canned a three-point shot with 4:45 left in the half, Minnesota trailed by only 58-56. Continuing to show superiority on the boards down the stretch, the Spartans opened the lead back up on a three-pointer by Forbes, who, after a field goal by Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy, made a pair of free-throws to keep a five-point cushion for Michigan State.

The Gophers finished and opened the halves with a run to tie the game. Down 32-26 with .7 seconds left in the first half, the Gophers inbounded from beneath their basket and found Kevin Dorsey alone in the right corner. Dorsey drained the three-pointer at the buzzer.

Minnesota had possession to start the second half and quickly got Murphy to the line. Murphy missed both free throws, and Gavin Schilling grabbed a defensive rebound, only to be stripped by Carlos Morris, who layed the ball in while also drawing a foul from Schilling. Morris converted, and the Gophers tied the game at 32-32.

However, Forbes answered with a three-point basket as the shot clock was expiring, and the Spartans were ahead to stay.

Murphy led the Gophers with nine rebounds and scored 14 points, but he joined his teammates in poor shooting (10 for 30) in the paint. The Gophers shot only 33.8 percent from the field while the Spartans connected 49 percent of the time. Minnesota struggled at the line, making 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) as Michigan State missed only three of its 20 free throws (85.0 percent).

Despite being outshot and outrebounded, the Gophers competed by taking care of the ball, turning it over only four times to 11 by the Spartans.

Izzo had decided in mid-December to take his team to the Cotton Bowl to watch the Michigan State football team play in the championship playoffs. After that decision, he watched things go wrong with the knee injury to Valentine in practice and the loss to Iowa in addition to the death of Izzo’s dad. Izzo said had he known all that would transpire, he probably would have made a different decision, but he added he was happy that they supported their football team, even though the Spartans were soundly whipped by Alabama in the bowl game. Izzo planned to fly from Minneapolis to Iron Mountain, Michigan, for his dad’s funeral.

Minnesota next plays at Penn State, where it hopes to snap a three-game losing streak. In addition to losing at Ohio State in its first Big Ten game, the Gophers’ non-conference schedule included losses to South Dakota, South Dakota State, and the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, teams that are supposed to be fodder for Big Ten teams.