Local Teams

Senior point guard Zavier Simpson had 16 points and eight assists as Michigan defeated slumping Michigan State 77-68 on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Isaiah Livers, who returned to action after recovering from a hip injury, supplied 14 points for Michigan (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten). Eli Brooks had 11 points and nine rebounds and David DeJulius added 10 points off the bench.

Cassius Winston led the 16th-ranked Spartans (16-8, 8-5) with 20 points and six assists, but he shot 5-for-18 from the field. Xavier Tillman contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds and Aaron Henry chipped in 11 and nine, respectively.

Michigan State shot 33.3 percent from the field while losing its third straight.

Michigan avenged an 87-69 loss in East Lansing on Jan. 5, a game in which Winston and Tillman combined for 52 points.

Both teams had difficulty scoring in the early going, particularly the Spartans. They had only five points in the first 11 minutes. A putback by Malik Hall seemed to settle them down in their halfcourt offense but the Wolverines maintained the lead.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Simpson gave Michigan a 22-13 lead. Livers hit another long ball with just over five minutes remaining in the half to stretch the advantage to 10, 25-15.

Michigan State's Kyle Ahrens made two free throws with two seconds left in the half to cut Michigan's lead to 29-23 at the break.

The Spartans opened the second half with a 9-4 spurt, including seven free throws, to pull within one, 33-32. The Wolverines maintained a lead between one and four points until a Jon Teske dunk made it 46-40.

Teske's free throws with 8:10 left made it 55-46. Brandon Johns' layup with under seven minutes to go pushed Michigan's advantage to 12.

Winston made two free throws with 2:21 remaining to bring the Spartans within eight points. A Tillman putback closed the gap to six, 65-59.

The Spartans couldn't get any closer as the Wolverines made 12 free throws the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media