Michigan Basketball Ends Regular Season with a Tough Loss to Michigan State

Michigan basketball wrapped up the regular season facing a tough 79-62 defeat against Michigan State. Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf stood out by scoring a combined 47 points, with Goldin contributing 29 points and 12 coming from a stellar performance in the first half. Despite this effort, the Wolverines will enter next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis as the 3-seed, starting their games on Friday night.

East Lansing Disappointment

The Wolverines have experienced a few disappointing games this season, but none were quite as stinging as Sunday’s performance in East Lansing. Having already lost their shot at the Big Ten title after falling to Maryland earlier in the week, Michigan faced a Michigan State team that had already secured the league crown.

Tom Izzo’s squad lit up Breslin Center with a flurry of 3-pointers, rocking the stadium while Dusty May’s team struggled with turnovers, leading to a sound defeat. The Spartans maintained their momentum throughout the game, leaving the Wolverines trailing almost the entire duration, ending their regular season with a three-game losing streak.

While Michigan managed a 14-0 run in the second half, it was inadequate to bridge the gap, as the team found themselves facing a 25-point shortfall and never closing to single-digit margin.

The Tale of Two Players

Early on, Michigan was down 33-15 after 14 minutes of play, with Vlad Goldin showcasing his prowess to keep U-M within reach. Accompanied by Danny Wolf’s strong contribution of 18 points and 13 rebounds, the duo known as “Area 51” stood out amidst an otherwise lackluster performance.

Overall, not counting Goldin and Wolf, the rest of the Wolverines scored only 13 points on a collective 5-for-25 shooting from the floor.

Despite losing four of their final six regular-season games, Michigan (22-9, 14-6 Big Ten) ends tied for second in the conference with Maryland and will prepare as the 3-seed for the Big Ten tournament, starting Friday night against the winner of Thursday’s matchup.

Turnovers and Missed Opportunities

Right from the start, the Wolverines struggled with turnovers. Danny Wolf missed a layup in the opening play, which set off a cascade of errors. Jeremy Fears Jr. stole a pass from Goldin, Rubin Jones received a moving screen penalty, while Burnett’s errant pass handed Jaden Akins an easy 3-pointer. Goldin then lost the ball again, setting off another MSU run capped by an Akins 3.

With five turnovers and only three attempts within the first four minutes, it was rough going for Michigan. Following a quick Goldin layup, MSU responded with a 12-1 run, buoyed by 3-pointers from Tre Holloman and Akins, which forced Michigan to call a timeout with a steep 20-6 deficit.

Though they tried to rally back, closing the lead to 10 a few times, the Wolverines were consistently thwarted by Spartan momentum, as demonstrated by sharp 3-pointers from Holloman and Jase Richardson during the first half.

By halftime, Michigan trailed 50-28, plagued by an 18-2 disadvantage in points-off-turnovers and a 21-1 shortfall in bench contribution. By the game’s conclusion, those numbers swelled to 79-62, 18-11, and 32-5, respectively.

A Deficit Unrecouped

Despite Michigan’s attempts to narrow the gap, MSU’s defense proved too formidable, supported by some lackluster shooting from the Wolverines. They started with an abysmal 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, finishing just 3-for-24. Inside the arc, they fared slightly better with a 57.1% success rate on 2-pointers, but it wasn’t sufficient to counter MSU, which shot 37.5% on 3s and 43.8% on 2s.

In the second half, MSU pushed their lead up to 25 points, but Michigan fought back with a 14-0 run, cutting it down to 61-50 with over nine minutes remaining, thanks primarily to Goldin and Wolf.

However, the Spartans retaliated as Richardson hit a much-needed 3-pointer, reinstating their control. MSU sealed the game at the free-throw line, compounded by a late skirmish surrounding a tradition that saw technical fouls issued, ultimately concluding the match with a 17-point disparity.