Rundown: The 12th ranked Michigan State Spartans improved to 19-4 overall and move into a second place tie in the Big Ten with an 8-2 record, by defeating the slumping Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-6, 5-5 Big Ten), 61-50. It was a sluggish start in the first half by both teams, failing to get any sort of offense going, as Minnesota took a 20-18 lead. It was a whole different game in the second half which saw the Spartans storm to a 43-point half, outscoring the Gophers by 13 by playing solid defense and most importantly only committing 3 turnovers.
The short-handed Spartans were once again banged up all over the place. Travis Trice was already out with a head injury, Gary Harris wasn’t himself due to back spasms, but finished the game with 15 points, including four three-pointer’s. Both Branden Dawson (sprained ankle) and Adreian Payne (nose) joined the club of injured Spartans, but luckily both returned to have nice games. However with 1:17 remaining in the game, the Spartans received a real scare when Keith Appling went down with a dislocated right shoulder, but thankfully rejoined the bench in the waning seconds of the game. Hopefully none of these injuries are too serious and they’ll all be able to practice for Saturday’s trap game against Purdue and next week’s pivotal showdown versus in-state rival Michigan.
Player of the Game: Once again the award goes to junior guard, Keith Appling who stuffed the stat sheet for the second straight game. Appling finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
Next Up: On Saturday evening, the Spartans travel to West Lafayette to face the Purdue Boilermakers who are having a bit of a down year at 12-11 overall, but 5-5 in the Big Ten. Hopefully Michigan State will not be looking ahead to the game Tuesday against Michigan, because if they do, this might spell trouble.
