Michigan State eases past Oakland, 67-54; Tom Izzo gets technical in ugly Christmas sweater

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State battled a December snooze but managed to cruise past Oakland, 67-54, before a capacity holiday crowd at Breslin Center, Wednesday night. The Spartans looked rusty midway through the first half and for the last 10 minutes of the game, but a well-oiled run early in the second half made the difference for the Spartans.

Senior forward Joey Hauser led Michigan State with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

Jaden Akins added 15 on 5-of-8 shooting – including 3-of-4 from 3-point range – and Tyson Walker scored 13 on 5-of-13 shooting.

Mady Sissoko had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with nine points.

Michigan State shot 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from 3-point range.

Keaton Hervey led Oakland with 16 points. Former Spartan Rocket Watts scored 4 points on 2-of-8 shooting for the Grizzlies, who were playing without point guard Jalen Moore.

Oakland went on a 25-13 run to pull within nine points (65-54) with 2:17 left, but could get no closer.

Michigan State (8-4) was playing for the first time in 10 days, and now will now get eight more days off before playing its next game on Friday, Dec. 30, against Buffalo.

Oakland fell to 2-11. Michigan State is now 21-0, all-time, against Oakland. 

QUOTABLE IZZO AND KAMPE

“It doesn’t matter what it’s like, it’s always a competitive game and we made it a competitive game,” said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. “(Oakland) is not an easy team to play. (Greg) Kampe runs that zone. I want to give him credit for it. It gave us fits. I wasn’t sure what it was. The bad news is I’m not sure he knew what it was.

“They really scrambled on it. I thought Tyson had some great shots early and once we missed some of those, I thought we tightened up a little. It didn’t help with Joey Hauser out for about seven minutes.”

“All those things created a bad seven, eight or nine minutes from about the eight-minute mark. 

“Oakland went to Boise and changed his whole offense. He keeps you on your toes. I mean (Trey) Townsend is a load. I thought he did a hell of a job. He is going to be one of the best players in their league.”

Townsend, a 6-6 sophomore power forward from Oxford, had success driving to the rim.

“We spread the floor and we got to the rim,” Kampe said. “The reason we do that is (Trey) Townsend is so good. We want to spread the floor and get guys to the rim. We scored all of our points early at the rim. 

“Sudoko or whatever his name is (Mady Sissoko), he blocked a couple. I begged for goaltending but you’re not going to get that here. 

“I felt great about our offense. There was a play where we got a wide-open 3, and got the rebound and kicked it out and got another wide-open 3 and from the moment it left their hands, it wasn’t even close. That pisses me off, especially when you’ve got a chance to do something here.”

HOW IT WENT DOWN

The Spartans got their transition game, and 3-point shooting, on track early in the second half to turn a 29-24 halftime lead into a 46-27 lead just three and a half minutes into the half. 

Walker hit a pair of transition 3-pointers during that span, the second of which gave Michigan State a 44-26 lead. 

Akins also nailed a pair of 3-pointers during that run, the second of which made it 52-29, which was Michigan State’s biggest lead of the game. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo applauded Hauser’s assist on that one.

Michigan State was 7-of-16 from the free throw line, including misses on the front end of two one-and-ones.

IZZO DRAWS TECHNICAL

Izzo was assessed the technical with 1:36 left in the first half with Michigan State leading 24-23. Izzo, wearing an ugly Christmas elf sweater to match something uglier worn by Oakland head coach Greg Kampe, protested a lack of foul calls as Michigan State players tried to get open in the post. 

The technical didn’t silence Izzo. Izzo, who has never been ejected from a game as Michigan State head coach, continued to rail at the officials for more than :20 seconds as Walker, Steven Izzo and Mark Montgomery eventually came off the bench to try to calm him.

Izzo relented. But he saved a few more protesting words for the officials as he exited the floor at halftime. 

Oakland’s Blake Lampman missed both technical foul free throws. 

Hauser led Michigan State at the break with 8 points, including a 3-pointer which provided the 29-24 lead off a baseline in-bound play.

Akins’ 3-pointer in transition allowed the Spartans to regain the lead to 26-24 after Michigan State had trailed moments earlier, 18-13. 

Michigan State led by as many as 7 in the first half at 13-6, thanks to a Walker 3-pointer. 

Michigan State’s offense has looked ugly at times in the first half against Oakland’s multiple defenses, which included various junk zones. Michigan State had 11 turnovers in the first half, compared to just four for Oakland.

Oakland had success getting decent looks in the halfcourt with its dribble hand-off motion offense. But Oakland shot just 30 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes while Michigan State shot 44 percent. 

Oakland’s shooting inaccuracy continued in the second half. 

Michigan State out-shot Oakland from the floor, 49 percent to 32 percent.

BROOKS BENCHED

Sophomore guard/forward Pierre Brooks was held out of the first half and didn’t enter the game until 4 minutes passed in the second half.

“Pierre was late to some things so he had to spend a little extra time on the bench, and that didn’t help us,” Izzo said.

Brooks played 12 minutes. He was 0-for-1 from the floor, 0-for-2 from the foul line and had a turnover.