Recap: Michigan State completes another comeback over Michigan to claim Big Ten title
Nolan Bianchi
Game summary
Michigan State completed a 13-point second-half comeback behind the steady play of Matt McQuaid and Cassius Winston to earn a Big Ten tournament title with a 65-60 win over Michigan on Sunday.
McQuaid finished with a career-high 27 and was 7 of 13 from beyond the arc and Winston had 14 and 11 assists for Michigan State, who closed the game on a 10-0 run.
The Wolverines failed to score in the games's final 2:29.
Spartans close out Wolverines for third time
Jordan Poole takes a bad 3-point shot and Michigan State will have a chance to tie things up at the other end. Xavier Tillman does the job, fighting his way to the rim and nailing a layup over Jon Teske.
Michigan timeout: Michigan 60, Michigan State 60 (1:10 2nd)
Zavier Simpson misses an open triple with Cassius Winston closing in on the shot. On the other end, Winston powers his way to the rim and gives Michigan State a lead with 30 seconds to go.
Ignas Brazdeikis misses a shot and the ball goes out of bounds. Michigan initially gets possession, but this might be reversed; it looked like Teske was the last to touch it. There's 13 seconds to go.
The ball goes to Michigan State.
Michigan State timeout: Michigan State 62, Michigan 60 (0:13 2nd)
Aaron Henry is fouled immediatley upon receiving the in-bound pass. He'll shoot a 1-and-1. He gets the bounce on the first shot but misses the second.
Winston commits a foul to reset things.
Jordan Poole receives the inbound pass and takes a terrible shot, assuming a foul. It's Michigan State ball and Kenny Goins will go to the line to ice things.
FINAL: Michigan State 65, Michigan 60
McQuaid, Poole doing battle in final minutes
Jordan Poole makes both free throws after the break, giving Michigan a 55-52 lead. Poole then pulls down a rebound over Kenny Goins, and Zavier Simpson finishes a layup on the other end.
Poole is then called for a shooting foul on McQuaid, who will go to the line to shoot three. He makes all three.
Isaiah Livers welcomes himself to the party on the other end with a deep 3-ball, which McQuaid promptly matches on the other end. McQuaid now has a career-high 27.
Media timeout: Michigan 60, Michigan State 58 (2:01 2nd)
Michigan-Michigan State flashing frantic pace down the stretch
Ignas Brazdeikis puts Michigan back out front with a dunk. On Michigan's next possession, Simpson throws an alley-oop to Jon Teske. Michigan State will call timeout as the Wolverines go up 4 in the blink of an eye.
Michigan State timeout: Michigan 52, Michigan State 48 (5:16 2nd)
Teske fouls Cassius Winston on the floor; Michigan State is in the bonus, so he'll go to the line for a one-and-one. He makes both, and it's 52-50, Michigan.
Kenny Goins turns it over and Jordan Poole draws a shooting foul in transition on Matt McQuaid. He makes the first and. misses the second.
Winston comes back the other way and hits a layup. McQuaid then fouls Poole on a shot again, and Poole will shoot another pair of free throws after a commercial break.
Media timeout: Michigan 53, Michigan State 52 (3:43 2nd)
Michigan State ties things up with under 7 minutes to go
Matt McQuaid is officially on fire. He makes his sixth 3-pointer of the game, drawing the Spartans within 2.
Michigan timeout: Michigan 46, Michigan State 44 (10:21 2nd)
Michigan comes out of the timeout with a gaffe. Isaiah Livers throws an errant pass to Jon Teske in the paint and turns it over. On the next possession, Teske's dunk attempt bounces twice off the rim and falls through. Michigan leads by 4.
Xavier Tillman scoops up a pass from Cassius Winston in the paint and gets fouled while putting home a layup. It remains a 2-point game after a missed free throw.
Winston ties the game on Michigan State's next possession with a circus-like layup around Livers. Buckle up.
Media timeout: Michigan 48, Michigan State 48 (6:18 2nd)
Winston, Michigan State coming alive in second half
Matt McQuaid draws the Spartans within 7 by completing the 3-point play. Kyle Ahrens is returning to the Michigan State bench on crutches.
Aaron Henry is fouled at the rim and will shoot two. He makes the first and misses the second.
Jordan Poole crosses over a Michigan State defender at the perimeter and drills a step-back 3 to end the Spartans' 6-0 run, but McQuaid responds with a 3 of his own at the other end.
Cassius Winston makes his first big play of the half, driving to the rim and making a difficult layup while getting fouled. He makes the ensuing free throw. Michigan State cuts the deficit to 3 behind a 15-5 run.
Eli Brooks helps with some damage control for Michigan with a layup.
Media timeout: Michigan 46, Michigan State 41 (11:23 2nd)
Pace raises as Michigan State finds scoring touch
Matt McQuaid opens the second half with a 3-pointer. He has Michigan State's last 9 points, all triples. Jordan Poole answers for Michigan with a deep ball of his own to make it 34-26.
Next it's Brazdeikis firing from beyond the arc for Michigan, drilling a 3, flashing some money fingers and blowing kisses to the split crowd. Zavier Simpson now has seven assists.
Brazdeikis draws a foul on Cassius Winston while driving to the rim. He makes both free throws. Michigan leads by 13.
On the other end, Jon Teske fouls Xavier Tillman at the rim. Tillman makes one of two free throws.
Aaron Henry strips Jordan Poole in the paint, heads the other way, and throws down a heavy dunk in transition. Charles Matthews responds with a mid-range jumper that makes it 41-29.
Tillman comes back the other way with a layup. Michigan State has found its groove on offense, but it'll need to make some defensive stops to get back in this one.
They get a stop, and on the other end, McQuaid hits an and-1 shot in the paint to tighten things up. He'll shoot a free throw after the break.
Media timeout: Michigan 41, Michigan State 33 (14:44 2nd)
Halftime
Michigan extends lead before half
Isaiah Livers finds his stroke with a 3-pointer off a screen. Ignas Brazdeikis draws a charge on Thomas Kithier.
Kithier stuffs Jordan Poole at the rim; Michigan keeps possession and Zavier Simpson nails his first skyhook of the game. Michigan leads, 28-23.
With Brazdeikis out of position, Matt McQuaid launches a wide-open 3 that falls. Brazdeikis hits a 3 moments later for Michigan, and Michigan State will regroup heading into the half's final minute.
Michigan State timeout: Michigan 31, Michigan State 23 (1:21 1st)
Injury update: Kyle Ahrens was taking directly to the X-ray room to have his left leg looked at, per Tracy Wolfson of CBS.
Michigan is unable to score on its last possession of the half; Simpson sticks on Cassius Winston like glue and forces the Spartan guard to take a highly-contested shot that falls short as time expires.
Halftime: Michigan 31, Michigan State 23
Ahrens stretchered off with leg injury
Zavier Simpson slips a pass to a driving Jon Teske, who finishes at the rim to tie things up at 17. Teske then stuffs Aaron Henry at the other end, and Simpson hits a fast-break layup to give the Wolverines a 19-17 lead.
McQuaid misses on the Spartans' next possession; Michigan State has not scored in over four minutes and counting.
Teske scores again for Michigan on a layup. Cassius Winston throws a pass out of bounds and the Wolverines will get it back.
Injury: Kyle Ahrens hit the ground hard after colliding with Ignas Brazdeikis and Kenny Goins mid-air for a rebound. He immediately went to the ground and stayed down. He appears to be in a ton of pain while being examined by the training staff. It does not look good.
The entire Michigan State team surrounds Ahrens as he receives an air cast and is lifted onto a stretcher. Ahrens is crying, as are Tom Izzo and a handful of his teammates. Absolutely brutal.
Matt McQuaid comes out of the injury break and snaps a scoreless streak that was nearing six minutes with a 3-pointer. Isaiah Livers responds with a basket in the paint for Michigan.
Media timeout: Michigan 23, Michigan State 20 (3:56 1st)
Michigan slowing down Spartan pace
Jordan Poole sinks both free throws after the break.
Cassius Winston immediately makes his presence felt in his return to the floor with a 3-pointer, his first points of the game.
Xavier Tillman is called for a moving screen on Michigan State's next possession. He'll check out with his second personal.
Jon Teske is fouled by Aaron Henry inside and will shoot two. He hits both, making it 17-13, Michigan State.
Mayhem breaks loose on a rebound after a missed Henry jumper. The Wolverines get up-court in a hurry, finishing with a layup by Poole to draw within 2.
Media timeout: Michigan State 17, Michigan 15 (7:48 1st)
Michigan State scoring with variety; Brazdeikis doing all the lifting for Michigan
Ignas Brazdeikis makes one of two free throws to draw the Wolverines within a point. Zavier Simpson heads to the bench after being assessed a foul on McQuaid.
Michigan State's Nick Ward and Michigan's Jordan Poole each miss their first shot of the game.
Brazdeikis drills a 3-pointer to put Michigan back on top. He's got all of Michigan's 7 points. Ward hits a short shot to make it 7-7.
Aaron Henry gets on the board on Michigan State's next possession, driving with force, dancing around Jordan Poole and laying it in for 2.
Cassius Winston goes to the bench out for freshman Foster Loyer. Recent check-in Kyle Ahrens hits a 3-pointer, and the Spartans are on a 7-0 run.
Brazdeikis ends the run with a layup, making it 12-9, Michigan State.
Ward puts the Spartans up 5 with a jumper assisted by Loyer.
Poole goes to the rim; he doesn't score, but Matt McQuaid is called for a blocking foul. Poole will shoot two after the break.
Media timeout: Michigan State 14, Michigan 9 (10:37 1st)
Championship game starts with high intensity
Michigan State wins the tip and we are underway. Matt McQuaid misses a 3-pointer with Zavier Simpson in his face, and Ignas Brazdeikis throws an errant pass out of bounds while driving to the rim.
Kenny Goins misses a 3 on Michigan State's second possession. Simpson fires a pass to Brazdeikis, who fires a 3-pointer from the corner to give Michigan a 3-0 lead. Goins misses another triple on the other end.
Charles Matthews makes a ferocious block on Goins at the rim. The Spartans keep possession with a defensive rebound; Cassius Winston spots a mismatch with Xavier Tillman and Simpson inside, and gets it to the big man who scores with ease.
McQuaid drills a 3-pointer to give Michigan State a 5-3 lead. Brazdeikis draws a shooting foul at the other end. He'll shoot two after the break.
Media timeout: Michigan State 5, Michigan 3 (15:49 1st)
Starters
Pregame
The last time Michigan and Michigan State squared off, a share of the Big Ten regular-season title was at stake.
Now, it'll be for a Big Ten tournament title.
It's Round 3 between the in-state rivals, with the Wolverines taking on the Spartans on Sunday in the Big Ten tournament championship game at United Center in Chicago.
Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m.
Michigan is looking to become the first program to win three straight Big Ten tournament titles. Michigan State is seeking its sixth Big Ten tournament title.
Michigan and Michigan State's third clash comes in a three-week span, with the Spartans winning the first two — 77-70 on Feb. 24 in Ann Arbor, and 75-63 on March 9 in East Lansing.
Michigan State junior point guard Cassius Winston starred in both, averaging 25 points and 7.5 assists in the victories.
The top-seeded Spartans (27-6) advanced to the title game with a 77-70 victory over No. 8 seed Ohio State, and a 67-55 victory over No. 4 seed Wisconsin in Saturday's semifinal. They've won nine of their last 10 games.
Michigan (28-5), the tournament's No. 3 seed, has dominated its first two opponents in the tournament, defeating No. 6 Iowa and No. 7 seed Minnesota by an average of 24 points.
Follow along with Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News for live updates.
Big Ten championship
MICHIGAN VS. MICHIGAN STATE
When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV/radio: CBS/WJR 760, WWJ 950
Records: No. 3 seed Michigan 28-5, No. 1 seed Michigan State 27-6
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