ANN ARBOR – Round one of the rivalry goes to the visitors.
No. 14 Michigan State (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) won 75-62 at No. 12 Michigan (20-6, 12-3) on Friday night to take over first place in the conference.
Here are notable quotes from coach Tom Izzo and players following the victory:
Izzo on three wins in the last week while also breaking the record for career Big Ten victories: “I’ve had a chance to do a lot of things in my career but I’m not sure I ever had a seven-day span like the one we just had. Most of the credit should go to my assistant coaches and my players.”
Jase Richardson, who scored 21, on the Spartans leapfrogging the Wolverines for first place in the conference by a half-game: “We had to go in there and take it from them and that’s what we did tonight.”
Izzo on the Wolverines, who had won six straight: “We beat a damn good team today. They are hard to guard.”
Tre Holloman, who scored 18, on knocking down three straight triples in the second half: “I felt good so I just shot the next one and it dropped. That kind of gave us a spark, it gave us a little cushion. That was big for us.”
Izzo on the two guards who combined to score 39 on Friday: “I really felt like Tre Holloman did a hell of a job and Jase Richardson was unbelievable.”
Izzo on the Spartans shooting 6-for-12 from deep in the second half: “For me, it was like heaven seeing some shots fall.”
Richardson on Holloman’s hot shooting: “That really does a lot for a team when somebody catches fire in a little stretch like that.”
Izzo on Michigan State committing only two turnovers in the second half after having nine in the first: “I went old school on them and threatened them at halftime.”
Jeremy Fears, who had 10 points, on Michigan State’s improved shooting in the second half: “We got some great looks, got some great shots. Everyone here has been putting in time and putting in their work in the gym so just trust your work, trust yourself and trust your confidence.”
Izzo on Michigan 7-footer Danny Wolf, who finished with 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds: “We really did, I thought, a pretty good job on Wolf. … He didn’t go crazy.”
Richardson on taking the Big Ten lead with two weeks remaining in the regular season that will conclude by hosting the Wolverines: “This is really special for us but there’s still four games left and a lot can happen in four games.”
