Spartans can’t overcome Wolverines, officiating
Leading by seven after the first half, many Spartan fans felt another victory over the Michigan Wolverines was imminent. Unfortunately, a staunch defensive effort from Tommy Amaker’s club and a bevy of foul calls allowed the Wolverines to get back in the game and eventually win 72-67. MSU staged a late comeback, cutting the deficit to three points in the final minute, but a tying-triple from Maurice Ager was waved off because head coach Tom Izzo had called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Ager was able to get an open look at a trey from 26-feet, but missed.
Michigan State’s mini-run at the end of the game started with a little over two minutes left on the Crisler Arena clock, and the Spartans trailing 69-62. Following a U-M layup, junior guard Shannon Brown was able to sink a three-pointer. After Michigan’s Daniel Horton missed a jumper, Ager was fouled and drained a pair of freebies to make it 69-67. With 37 seconds left, Paul Davis was evidently fouled as he attempted to rise from underneath the basket for a game-tying score, but no call was made by the officials. This is as close as MSU would get, as Chris Hunter of U-M split a pair of free throws, and Ager’s desperation three-point shot came came off the rim.
Numbers don’t lie- the Spartans were called for 27 fouls and the Wolverines just 14. As a result, Michigan State went 6-for-10 from the foul line, while Michigan was 27-of-34. During stretches in the second half, MSU was seemingly called for a foul anytime they did something positive. Senior center Paul Davis was kept on the bench during the first and second halves after getting into foul trouble; he finished with 10 points in 29 minutes. Davis and senior guard Maurice Ager played the final three minutes with four fouls a piece, while Drew Neitzel picked up his fourth with over eight minutes remaining. For the Wolverines, the only player with more than two personal fouls on the night was Graham Brown (4).
Michigan State will get a shot at redemption on February 18, when the Wolverines come to East Lansing. Some fans are speculating that former Spartans Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson will have their jerseys retired that afternoon.