MSU Cruises Past Minnesota, Eyes Now on USC/UCLA West Coast Trip

**Breslin Center- East Lansing, MI**

Suffocating defense, rebound domination, many hustle plays, 20 assists on 25 field goals and 20 free throws attempted for the 8th conference game out of 9. Typical Coach Izzo squad domination -it was the recipe for MSU’s 73-51 wire-to-wire win last night over Minnesota. With 5+ minutes left Minnesota (11-10, 3-7) had only 8 points and Michigan State (18-2, 9-0 1st) led comfortably between 12-20 points with as large of a lead as 22.

Just a 9-0 run for @jiggyTrawww 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mKkFfkGKM1

— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) January 29, 2025

Tre Holloman was hot early, knocking down 4-5 3-pointers and scored all 12 of his points in the first half, a team high. Jaxon Kohler hit a pair of triples early and finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Carson Cooper was active and productive, securing 7 rebounds in the first half and then scored all 9 points in the second half while adding in 4 more rebounds for 11 total and 3 blocks himself. In the second half, Xavier Booker and Coen Carr were using their length to their advantage with Carr wowing the Breslin Center crowd with a couple dunks and an alley oop slam that has made him one of the best highlight dunkers of the season. Both combined for 17 points on 6-13 shooting, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Jase Richardson and Jeremy Fears Jr. were maestros tallying 14 of their 20 assists, 8 rebounds, 11 points 2, steals a block and only 1 turnover. Jaden Aikins chipped in 10 points (4-9 FGs, 2-5 3-pt).

As in the matchup breakdown, Dawson Garcia tallied a game high 21 points on 9-16 FGs and 5 rebounds but received little support besides 8 points from Mike Mitchell Jr, Lu’Cye Patterson and reserve Isaac Asuma. The Golden Gophers only mustered 5 free throw attempts. Patterson picked up 2 quick fouls in the first 27 seconds (12 seconds apart) and the offense was never really in rhythm until it was too late and sloppy ball handling combined with excellent defense resulted in 12 turnovers to MSU’s 9. The Spartans dismantled Minnesota combining to outscore them 47-23 in fast break points and points in the paint.

MSU did win the second half, but late game 3’s are still a theme of which they need to tighten up on against better opponents. Their free throws and 2-pt Effective FG % have been offsetting most of those runs but in instances like Illinois, permitter defense was a struggle. We imagine that will be hammered home as they board the plane for California.

All-in-all, this team did not look ahead and took care of business with another opening first half uppercut. They are enjoying a +8.4-point margin in the first half (38.8 pts ranking 31st/ 30.4 pts allowed ranking 28th), whereas it’s only +5.1-point margin in the second half (42.3 pts ranking 28th/37.2 pts allowed ranking 139th). They continue to dominate the glass and own elite rankings in: Def Reb/game (26.9) at 9th, respectable Off Reb/game (10.4) at 63rd and their percentages are just as elite: Off Rebound % 34.6 (21st) and Def Rebound % 76.0 (33rd). Quietly, their paint defense has been elite as well. They check in 19th in blocks/game at 5.3 and the block % at 8.8 is 22nd. Opponents aren’t really close at 126th (3.1/game) and 102nd (5.1%). Their length has impact on both ends and direct contribution to having gone the last two calendar months, undefeated heading into February. This team has had to earn their rankings, slowly, with a staff relentless in keeping them humble and focused on improving errors. Now, the tough stretch lies ahead with only 4 weeks before March–just the way Tom Izzo always likes it.

***Coach Izzo could pass Bob Knight for the conference’s All-Time Big Ten Wins record. He currently has 352, with 353 officially tying the late Indiana legend. Should they defeat the Trojans, he would be in line to break the record at UCLA, less than a year after the sudden passing of Bruin legend and NBA HOFer, Bill Walton.***

HIGHLIGHTS vs Minnesota 📽️ pic.twitter.com/nXE9Sa3K6R

— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) January 29, 2025

TEAM STATS:

Spartans: 25-56 FG (44.6%), 8-25, 3-PT (32.0%), 15-20 FT (75.0%)

Golden Gophers: 21-51 FG (41.2%), 6-17, 3-PT (35.3%), 3-5 FT (60.0%)

Record/Rankings & More:

18-2 (9-0, 1st-Big Ten) Rankings: #7 AP / #7 Coaches Poll
Updated KenPom- Off: 18th / Def: 15th. Adjusted Tempo: 126th. SOS Net Rtg: 45th +6.84

Updated Bart Torvik- ADJOE: 23rd/ADJDE: 15th / EFF.FGD%: 45.6 (20th) / ORBD %: 37.0 (18th) & DRBD %: 25.8 (26th)

Other Metrics: KPI (13th), ESPN SoR (6th), ESPN BPI (17th), T-Rank: 14th — #3 in FT % (81.5%), 2nd at home (83.8%) and 17th on road (78.8%) which would put them 16th alone.

FULL KenPom Stats: https://kenpom.com/index.php

FULL Bart Torvik Stats: https://barttorvik.com/#

FULL T-Rank Stats: https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2025/net-teamsheets-plus#google_vignette

NEXT ON THE CLOCK:

The first of 2 west coast games is Saturday (2/1) at USC (12-8, 4-5) on Peacock at 4:30pm EST/1:30pm PST. Head Coach Eric Musselman is no stranger to winning at the college or pro scene. The 59-year-old won 111 games at Arkansas (2020-2024) and produced a handful of NBA draft picks after a successful 2016-2019 run at Nevada, totaling 221-93 record winning 20+ games in 8 of his 9 seasons and owns the 10th best winning percentage of all active D1 coaches with at least 9 years as a Head Coach. His experience actually began in the NBA including 2 years as the head honcho for the Golden State Warriors (2002-2004) and a season for the Sacramento Kings (2006-2007) including a few stops coaching in the NBDL accumulating a 503-291 record (.634 win %), totaling 30 years of experience across every collegiate and pro level.