Local Teams

Rocket Watts had 21 points off the bench and host Michigan State avenged a loss to rival Michigan three nights earlier with a 70-64 victory at East Lansing on Sunday.

Aaron Henry contributed 18 points for Michigan State (15-11, 9-11 Big Ten) and Joey Hauser added in 11. The Spartans improved their chances of receiving an NCAA Tournament bid in the regular-season finale for both teams by knocking off the second-ranked Wolverines (19-3, 14-3).

Michigan clinched the conference's regular-season title with a 69-50 win over Michigan State at home on Thursday. The Wolverines trailed most of the way in the rematch.

Chaundee Brown led Michigan with 13 points. Hunter Dickinson had 12 points and seven rebounds, Mike Smith added 11 points and seven assists, while Franz Wagner chipped in 10 points with six rebounds and five assists.

Michigan guard Eli Brooks came away with a left ankle injury after four minutes of playing time and did not return. The Wolverines' fourth-leading scorer had five points in his brief appearance.

The Spartans led by as many as five points during the first seven minutes of the second half. A Hauser shot in the lane with 12:29 remaining gave them a seven-point advantage at 45-38 and Marcus Bingham Jr.'s put-back with 12 minutes remaining made it 47-38.

A free throw from Julius Marble II nudged the Spartans' lead to 48-38 before Brown halted the run with a jumper.

After Michigan closed within six at 48-42 with 9:01 remaining, Michigan State used a 7-2 spurt to take a 55-44 lead. Watts had four of those seven points for the Spartans.

The Wolverines cut the Spartans' lead to 59-54 on a Wagner 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining. Henry answered with a layup for the Spartans, but Dickinson made two inside baskets, the second with 1:13 on the clock. That second one turned into a three-point play to cut Michigan State's lead to 61-59.

Michigan State's Joshua Langford drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 49 seconds remaining as the Spartans led 64-59. Gabe Brown added two free throws for Michigan State before Wagner knocked down another 3-pointer. But Michigan could not get closer than four points in the closing seconds.

Watts scored 11 first-half points as Michigan State led 30-26 at halftime.

--Field Level Media