Michigan 86, Michigan State 57
Derrick Walton joined Jalen Rose and Gary Grant in the 1000-400-400 club tonight and had fun doing it. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]
"I think he's playing the best basketball of his career," said Tom Izzo. "And I think this game was the most important thing in his life."
Derrick Walton wasn't going to let his team lose this one. His teammates, in a pleasant surprise, matched the near-manic effort Walton has played with for the last month.
"Before the game the guys just really banded together and told me they really wanted to get this one for me," said Walton. "They played like it, and I'm really appreciative of it all. Everybody played their heart out."
An increasingly impossible to predict Michigan squad blew the game open midway through the first half, ripping off a 32-10 run with highlights aplenty, including a DJ Wilson posterization of Kenny Goins and Duncan Robinson capping the half with a walk-off triple from Caris Corner. Moe Wagner dominated his matchup with Nick Ward, hitting all five of his first-half attempts and goading Ward into a Grayson Allen-style technical foul. Michigan forced 12 first-half turnovers, three of them shot-clock violations. Walton continued his spectacular run of play with 12 points, three boards, and seven assists by halftime. The second half was academic.
"Can't say enough about Derrick Walton right now, of just the tranformation in the last month," said John Beilein.
Wilson, Simpson, and MAAR all came through with big plays. [Campredon]
Walton's young charge also looked transformed. Xavier Simpson entered tonight with two made field goals in Big Ten play. Tonight, working within what Beilein said was a simplified package of plays, he played with newfound confidence, scoring seven points on 3-for-4 shooting and dishing out two assists in the best 12 minutes of his young career. Like his teammates, Simpson played with something extra for his senior captain from Detroit.
"This is [Walton's] last time playing Michigan State, so for him to get that win means a lot," said Simpson.
Michigan's dominance extended to almost every facet of the game. They went 22-for-32 from inside the arc, buoyed by Wagner's skilled play around the hoop and strong finishes from the guards. They shot 10-for-21 on three-pointers, led by a perfect 3-for-3 mark from Walton. They played with great defensive intensity, forcing 21 turnovers and holding MSU under 48% from the field. They kept the Spartans off the boards. And, yes, they played with more emotion; Wilson's technical stood out as a positive, while Ward's was very much the opposite.
A happy squad. [Campredon]
"Today was, like, perfect," Beilein said of the team's mental edge. "They were right there. They were angry. They were junkyard dogs—that was the whole idea, the picture of a doberman that I wanted them to go out and play like, I think it was a doberman but he had big teeth."
Beilein, like the rest of us, admitted he's never sure when the team is going to play with that bite. Tonight, in a rivalry game they had to win to keep any realistic shot at a tourney bid, they had it going full force. Whether it will carry over to Sunday's game at Indiana is anyone's guess. It's a start, at least, and if the whole team can continue to rise up to the standard Walton is setting, they may just make the late run they need.
"We don't think we've played as well as our talent shows," said Walton. "We've got seven games left and we can still do something special."
February 9th, 2017 at 6:25 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 7:37 AM ^
the Ward technical foul. What did he do?
February 8th, 2017 at 7:43 AM ^
He went full Grayson Allen and tripped Mo Wagner after a time out was called and players were walking back to their benches.
February 8th, 2017 at 9:02 AM ^
Not quite FULL Grayson Allen. He didn't cry and throw a fit like a punk after the foul was called.
February 8th, 2017 at 9:59 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 7:41 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 8:04 AM ^
Like most successful team, this team must learn to work inside-out. Dakich hit the nail on the head last night, that their inside game fuels their outside shooting, and that game really highlighted it. There's got to be a huge discrepancy in offensive officiency from when either a player drives into the paint, or the ball is passed into the paint, compared to when it is passed around the 3 point line. One possession, Wilson dribbled into the paint and 3 spartans collapsed on him. I think he hit Walton for an easy 3, but Robinson was also wide open. It was a beautiful play. See if they can keep it up.
February 8th, 2017 at 8:55 AM ^
February 9th, 2017 at 6:28 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 8:05 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 9:41 AM ^
you must not have watched Ibi then--last I looked he was 1 for 18 from 3, and the make was a bank.
February 8th, 2017 at 8:07 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 8:29 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 8:41 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 9:05 AM ^
No doubt that Walton was the leader on the floor for the course of the evening, but Wagner was generally an unsolvable problem for Izzo's squad. Apart from a couple of times where Wagner got lost on defense (with quick recoveries) and at least one time dribbling behind his back*, his game was pretty much flawless.
And while I don't agree that the tech itself was a positive, I get the point. Our team had swagger and fight that we'd like to see every night. And MSU looked like it desperately wanted the game to be over and get back to E. Lansing.
*Dude, you are 6'11". That's 211 cm. So please, for um Himmels willen, don't do that anymore!
February 8th, 2017 at 9:19 AM ^
Michigan basketball
February 8th, 2017 at 9:34 AM ^
Get a shoe shine!
February 8th, 2017 at 9:39 AM ^
I was very impressed with Simpson's play tonight. He was known for his scoring in HS. I think we will all be impressed with him as an assist man next year. He had some creative-skillful passes tonight. Impressed with his vision.
February 8th, 2017 at 9:42 AM ^
They still need to look for a John B. replacement. This euphoria will go to despair in 1-2 games.
February 8th, 2017 at 9:50 AM ^
are you talking about?!
Undefeated the rest of the way, BIG tournament champion, Final Four!
It's going down baby!!
/s
/maybe
/no clue what this team is going to do next
February 8th, 2017 at 9:56 AM ^
to believe in your team.
IIRC, the 2013 team was pretty hot/cold till nearly the end of the season. *NO ONE* thought they'd go as far as they did, until like the third round, when it suddenly looked like they might win it all (& they shoulda).
February 8th, 2017 at 10:00 AM ^
not the same. The 2013 team was "hot and cold" within the sphere of being very very good and recognized as such all year. They were never ranked out of the Top 15 that season and were Top 10 until the very end of the season. They turned in some clunkers, at MSU, at PSU, but they were never in the same boat as this team.
They were slumping at the beginning of the tourney so it kinds of lends itself to a distorted view if you look back on it, but they were odds on favorite to win it all or at least go very deep in the tourney as late as February of that year.
February 8th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^
Give me a break, that team had 5 1st round draft picks on the roster. This one... does not.
February 8th, 2017 at 9:55 AM ^
What will it take to get this team to play hard every night? I've watched a lot of games this year - maybe more than any year ever and I think this team has talent, but its not reflected in its record. They are underachieving. Yeah they're over-reliant on the 3 and their post defense often sucks but they have a lot of upside.
But the weirdest thing is that seemingly the only variable that determines if they win or lose is whether they play hard.
It's hard to keep focus over the course of a long season in a tough league. But if this team could play with passion most of the time they could step to anyone in the Big Ten. I hope they're starting to realize that and they'll follow Walton's lead.
I hate to quote the unquotable and ineloquent Dakich, but he's right: "good things happen in basketball when you play hard".
I want to love this team and I think I do. But they make me crazy. Who knows what the hell is gonna happen in Indiana this weekend.
February 8th, 2017 at 9:58 AM ^
posing a historic challenge *might* just give them the OOMPH that they need...
...who knows, maybe Irvin will even return to form & join the rest of his wakened team.
~ GO BLUE! ~
February 8th, 2017 at 10:16 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^
You guys are all homers. Although its great to destroy your rival, MSU is an awful team; just like us. I love Belein and think he's one of the nicest guys out there but he needs to run a compliance department because he cant recruit. We got lucky with Burke (dont forget, OSU did not want him), we got lucky with Hardaway because he grew 6 inches his senior year and Stauskas just blossomed into a great college player. GR3 benefited from everyone elses success. Until Belein recruits 5* players and gets some good role players we're never going to do anything. Harbaugh understands that this is Michigan. I dont know if Belein does.
February 8th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
of this might be true but it is simply not the day for it.
February 8th, 2017 at 10:53 AM ^
Beilein has been the coach at Michigan for 10 years. Maybe it's time you learned how to spell his name.
February 8th, 2017 at 11:29 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^
Even if that were not true, this is what a team like Michigan should do to awful teams, we won by 30...
February 8th, 2017 at 10:26 AM ^
Walton has been playing out of his mind. Finally the rest of the team joined him. Hope the Beilein haters choke on this one. He doesn't play you know. And I'm sure He is ready every game. integrity, character, loyalty,,,,,,that is the M way. Defense helps too. Finally a truly enjoyable watch. Congrats Team.
February 8th, 2017 at 10:46 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 10:52 AM ^
I've noticed a lot of my MSU friends have disappeared this year...Maybe they have other things to do with their 3-9 hours of free time a day.
February 8th, 2017 at 11:04 AM ^
February 8th, 2017 at 12:21 PM ^
Irvin should come off the bench. The team looked totally different with X and Walton on the floor. It looked like the spacing was considerably better which gave everyone better looks at the basket. Not sure why people on here are talking about we need Irvin's defense? When has Irvin ever been an above average defender?? At this point why don't we give the line-up of X and Walton more play, worse case it doesn't work and the team is back to where it started, best case the team looks like it did when X and Walton were on the floor yesterday and X gets valuable experience for next year. With a record of 15-9 it's not like the team has been clicking on all cynclinders throughout the year with Irvin starting.
February 8th, 2017 at 3:02 PM ^
Really encouraged by the amount of effort the team played with last night. On the broadcast Dakich kept mentioning "if you play hard...good things will happen". It is much easier to play hard and put forth defensive effort when shots are going in. I'd feel better about the tourney chances with this team if they can play with that same effort even when their shots are not falling.
I'm happy for Walton and the manner in which he playing and putting the team on his back.
February 8th, 2017 at 3:16 PM ^
So much Irvin hate, it wasn't long ago that he was our best player making every elbow jumper and a large number of those looping layups. Why they've gone away I don't know but he shouldnt be pushed into Donnal purgatory after a few bad games.
February 8th, 2017 at 4:32 PM ^
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