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V-Cast: Michigan State takes another step ahead of difficult West Coast trip

On3 imageby:Paul Konyndyk•01/29/25•

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Minnesota-home v-cast

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State maintained its position atop the Big Ten standings with a 73-51 win over Minnesota at Breslin Center ahead of a California road trip with games against Southern Cal and UCLA upcoming. After Tuesday’s win, SpartanMag staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk checked in from courtside with the latest V-Cast.

V-CAST TOPICS

Getting Defensive: A dominant first-half performance on defense fueled Michigan State’s victory over Minnesota. Afterward Spartan coach Tom Izzo said that his team’s first-half defense against the Golden Gophers was among the best 20-minute defensive efforts he has coached. During the first half, the Spartans held Minnesota to just 16 points on seven field goals. Four of those field goals were scored by Gopher star Dawson Garcia, who finished with 21 points to lead all scorers. Michigan State forced four shot clock violations in the first half.

Tre Holloman: Junior guard Tre Holloman has had some loud games for Michigan State this season, including a 19-point game against North Carolina and a 17-point game more recently in a win over Illinois. Holloman, a Minneapolis native, led the Spartans in scoring with 12 against Minnesota. All 12 of his points came in the first half of the game. Holloman accounted for nine points on three triples in a key 13-0 run that helped the Spartans take a 20-point lead into halftime. Michigan State maintained that lead after the break.

Xavier Booker: This was one of the better performances of the season for sophomore forward Xavier Booker, who came off the bench to score 10 points and add three rebounds. Booker missed a pair of threes in this game, but did not settle for perimeter jumpers. The long, athletic, sophomore scored nearly half of his points at the free-throw line for the Spartans. Booker wasn’t the only big that made a contribution for Michigan State against Minnesota. Jaxon Kohler, Szymon Zapalla, and Carson Cooper each played well for the Spartans. Cooper finished one point short of recording a double double. The junior center led the Spartans with 11 rebounds.

Jase Richardson: Michigan State freshman Jase Richardson had a strong game for Michigan State coming off a game in which he set a career high in scoring at Rutgers. In this game, Rutgers set a career high in assists with 11. As a team, the Spartans recorded 20 assists on 25 made field goals. Jeremy Fears also had a solid game as a facilitator, recording six assists in the win.

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