'It means a lot': Michigan powers by Michigan State 69-50, clinches Big Ten regular-season crown

James Hawkins
The Detroit News

Ann Arbor — Michigan wasn’t going to squander another chance to secure the Big Ten crown.

Not after getting run over by Illinois. Not on Senior Night. And especially not against rival Michigan State.

The No. 2 Wolverines buried the Spartans with a second-half blitz and clinched their first regular-season title since 2013-14 with a 69-50 wire-to-wire victory Thursday at Crisler Center.

BOX SCORE: Michigan 69, Michigan State 50

With the Big Ten championship being determined by winning percentage this season, Michigan (19-2, 14-2 Big Ten) is guaranteed to finish ahead of second-place Illinois.

Isaiah Livers and his Michigan teammates celebrate after defeating Michigan State 69-50 at Crisler Center on Thursday. The victory clinched the regular-season Big Ten title, UM's first since the 2013-14 season.

“It means a lot,” said senior forward Isaiah Livers, who kissed the Block M at midcourt when he checked out for the last time in his final home game. “Coach (Juwan) Howard did a great job of keeping our eyes on the road — our journey, where we're supposed to go, what we want to do, what goals we want to accomplish. Doing this tonight, especially on Senior Night at home, this is what I dreamed about and envisioned.

"This is what made me work so hard during our conditioning drills, lifting sessions, practice, games when I'm tired. This is what drives us here at Michigan basketball. We want to hang up banners."

More:Aaron Henry's flagrant foul changes momentum, Michigan State vows to rebound from loss to Michigan

Sophomore wing Franz Wagner scored 19 and made four 3-pointers and freshman center Hunter Dickinson tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan, which also locked down the No. 1 seed for next week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

After using a late surge to build an 11-point halftime lead, Michigan put Michigan State away with a 25-4 run over an 11-minute stretch that was spurred by hustle plays.

Dickinson dove on the court and won the battle for a loose ball that led to a 3-pointer from Wagner. Senior guard Eli Brooks saved a ball under the basket and found Dickinson for a two-handed slam. Add in another Dickinson dunk and a 3-pointer from grad transfer guard Mike Smith, the Wolverines rattled off 10 straight points and the lead swelled to 49-32 with 15:23 to play.

For an offense that mightily struggled outside of junior wing Aaron Henry and a defense that had no answer for Dickinson inside or Wagner outside, that proved to be an insurmountable mountain for Michigan State to climb. And that was before Michigan kept running away, with Wagner bookending a string of 13 unanswered points with 3-pointers to make it 64-36 with 6:20 remaining.

Michigan maintained at least 21-point lead until its seniors exited to cheers and the celebration began — complete with yellow confetti, coach Juwan Howard dancing and a net-cutting ceremony.

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard holds up the Big Champions sign after his team won the Big Ten Championship with their win over Michigan State. 69-50

"I just remember (Michigan State) celebrating on their court after they clinched it against us (two years ago),” Brooks said. “We didn't have to talk about it. I think everybody vividly remembers that. Even last year when Maryland clinched it on their home court and walking out when there's confetti.

“To be able to return the favor to them (Michigan State), it means a lot."

Henry had 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting for Michigan State (14-11, 8-11) but didn't receive much help. The Spartans went 0-for-9 from 3-point range and, according to Big Ten Network’s research department, the 50 points is the second fewest they've scored against the Wolverines since 1980.

Michigan State will have another shot to boost its NCAA Tournament resume when the rivals meet again on Sunday in East Lansing for the regular-season finale.

“I’m very disappointed in the way we played,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We start out the second half with two big stops and two big baskets. The ball is on the floor and we didn’t dive after it. They get it, get a 3 and then it went downhill.

"They played pretty good. We did not play good. We’ve got some work to do. I’m looking forward to Sunday.”

The Wolverines scored the first seven points and held the Spartans scoreless over the opening four minutes in a first half that was riddled with whistles, turnovers and scrappy play.

Smith and Brooks combined for Michigan’s first 11 points before Dickinson got involved. Dickinson took advantage of a one-on-one matchup in the post and scored three straight baskets, the last a three-point play that gave the Wolverines an 18-10 advantage with 9:45 left in the half.

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Michigan State hung around thanks to Henry, who provided much of the offense and had a pair of thunderous dunks. The second came during a 6-0 spurt that helped the Spartans cut the deficit to 18-16 at the 7:43 mark.

Michigan swung back and took a 27-18 lead on a 3-pointer from Wagner, but it could never sustain the momentum as the fouls piled up on both sides — including a flagrant on Henry for elbowing Wagner in the face.

With Henry on the bench down the stretch, the Wolverines closed strong. They used a 9-2 run to take a 39-28 lead in a half the featured 21 fouls and 15 turnovers.

From there, Michigan never looked back on its path to a banner night.

"It felt amazing," Smith said. "It's sweeter to do it against Michigan State.

"For us to do this on our home court and get to celebrate Senior Night and to celebrate a Big Ten regular-season championship and have family out there, it was a blessing."

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins