No. 12 Michigan St. 80, IPFW 58

By foxsports
Published

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo wasn't happy with the Spartans' finals-week letdown.

After getting outhustled for most of the first half, the Spartans had enough to put away IPFW 80-58 on Saturday.

Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe scored 14 points apiece for the 12th-ranked Spartans and Kalin Lucas added 10 points in their final tuneup before Tuesday's visit to No. 2 Texas.

``If anyone ever tries to put athletes in a position where they're treated like normal students, I want to tell you that you're insane,'' Izzo said. ``After nine days off, we had 11 finals yesterday.''

Deilvez Yearby had 25 points, including 17 in the first half, and 15 rebounds for the Mastodons (3-6).

Michigan State scored the game's first 10 points and built a 17-point lead before sputtering and letting IPFW cut the margin to 42-37 at the break. The Mastodons had six 3-pointers and a 22-18 edge on the boards against the nation's No. 5 rebounding team in that span.

The Spartans reasserted themselves after the break and slowly re-established a comfortable lead. They held IPFW to 23 points, 28.6-percent accuracy from the field and 1 for 10 on 3-pointers in the second half.

``Michigan State did what Michigan State does best,'' Mastodons coach Dane Fife said. ``They pounded us on the glass in the second half, pounded us in the post and threw the ball over us. And we made some really bad mistakes, the kind that led to our demise.''

Michigan State shot 49.1 percent (28 for 57) from the field, while the Mastodons hit only 31.1 percent (19 for 61). IPFW also had 21 turnovers.

Draymond Green had six points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals for the Spartans. His hustle helped Michigan State regain control in the last 20 minutes, when the Spartans had a 22-12 edge on the boards.

Michigan State also shot 20 for 25 at the free-throw line.

After the game, the Spartans players watched Texas' game against North Carolina on TV. On Tuesday, they'll try to win their fourth straight against the Longhorns.

``We haven't lost to them since I've been here, and I don't plan to start now,'' Lucas said. ``But it'll be a dogfight. And if we start well, we can't get satisfied. We've got to stay on our toes.''