Hunter Dickinson bullies Sparty in blowout win

Despite being in his 27th year as the head coach at Michigan State, and numerous complaints to the refs, Tom Izzo’s squad got run out of Ann Arbor by assistant coach Phil Martelli and the Michigan Wolverines. Hunter Dickinson was simply too much for the Michigan State Spartans. He dropped 33 points and let the Spartans hear about it. The final score was 87-70.

First Half

Intensity was high from the start in this one. Both teams came out playing fast and scoring often. Michigan State got out to an early 11-9 lead before a big Michigan run created some separation. The Wolverines went on a 14-0 spurt to take a 23-11 lead.

The Spartans were able to trim the lead down to seven, but Michigan quickly built it back into double-digits. The Wolverines led by as many as 18 in the half and took a 44-28 lead into the locker room. Michigan shot 5-of-8 from downtown in the half, with Terrance Williams going 3-for-3 from deep. Hunter Dickinson had 12 first-half points, the only player in double figures from either team. No Spartan had more than five points.

Second Half

Michigan maintained a 15-20 point lead for the first 10 minutes of the half before Michigan State made its final push.

The Spartans trimmed the lead down to 12, but Hunter Dickinson — I mean, Michigan — was simply too much for Michigan State to handle.

When Michigan State got any momentum going, Dickinson responded with a monster dunk to fire up the Crisler Center just about every time. Michigan pulled away again down the stretch and won by 17.

Michigan’s tournament resume continues to improve down the stretch. There are still two more chances for good wins with Iowa coming to town on Thursday, and the season concluding at Ohio State before the Big Ten Tournament begins.

Michigan is now 16-12 and 10-8 in conference play.