Local Teams

Short-handed and on the road for a top-10 matchup, Michigan State needed its best player to be at his best on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Cassius Winston was just that, scoring 27 points and handing out eight assists to lead No. 10 Michigan State to a 77-70 road victory over No. 7 Michigan, jumping a game ahead of the Wolverines in the Big Ten standings. It snapped a three-game Spartans losing streak in the series and was their first win at the Crisler Center since 2016.

Kenny Goins added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan State (23-5, 14-3 Big Ten), while Xavier Tillman added 14 points and Matt McQuaid chipped in 13 for the Spartans.

Zavier Simpson scored 19 to lead Michigan (24-4, 13-4), while Ignas Brazdeikis added 16 points for the Wolverines. Jordan Poole chipped in 15 points, and Jon Teske scored 10.

Two of the best defensive teams in the nation hardly showed it in the first half, as Michigan State shot 56 percent from the field and Michigan nailed 43.3 percent of its shots.

It was Michigan State that grabbed the first advantage, taking a 27-20 lead on a 3-pointer from Goins with 10:16 left in the first half. However, Michigan responded with an 8-0 run, sparked by 3-pointers from Simpson and Brazdeikis, to give the Wolverines a one-point lead with just more than eight minutes to play in the half.

It was back and forth from there, as a McQuaid triple and two free throws from Tillman capped Michigan State's scoring to give the Spartans a 39-37 lead at halftime.

Michigan was the aggressor to open the second half, outscoring Michigan State 14-6 to take a 51-45 lead as Brazdeikis dunked on a baseline drive with 15:42 to play. However, the Spartans chipped away and put together and 11-2 run to grab a 56-53 lead with 9:22 left in the game.

It was a lead Michigan State would never relinquish, growing to as many as nine late in the half, and the Spartans put the game away at the free-throw line. Michigan got within four in the final minute but came no closer.

--Field Level Media