National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Michigan St 89, Michigan 73
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 6, 2016
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Officials: # D.J. Carstensen, # Terry Wymer, # Larry Scirotto
Attendance: 12707

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Bryn Forbes hasn't played many games at the Crisler Center, but the Lansing, Mich., native made sure his last one would be a memorable one.

Michigan State's senior guard scored 29 points -- 23 coming in the first half -- to lead No. 10 Michigan State to an 89-73 blowout victory over Michigan on Saturday.

"Yeah, it felt like (they would all go in)," Forbes said after coming up three points shy of his career high. "I was just on a roll. My teammates were finding me for open shots. I got a few and they were just falling."

Forbes finished 8 of 10 from 3-point range, going 7 of 9 in the first half. Senior guard Denzel Valentine flirted with a triple-double, scoring 21 points while grabbing nine rebounds and producing eight assists.

Senior center Matt Costello chipped with 14 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans (20-4, 7-4 Big Ten), who have won four straight after suffering through a three-game skid early in conference play.

"To say I'm ecstatic about the performance would be underserving what we did," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I'm just happy at this time of the year we're making some progress. We're getting a little better, getting healthier, we got our rotation down a little better.

"But for us, our three seniors won us the game. It was Costello, Forbes and Valentine that came through."

Those seniors have now won four straight against Michigan, including two in a row at Crisler Arena.

"Four years they stick in there, they just keep getting better and better and better, and all of a sudden they've become really elite players," Michigan coach John Beilein said of Costello and Valentine. "(Valentine) is as good as anybody in the country."

Michigan (17-7, 7-4) struggled shooting the ball throughout the game, making just 8 of 28 from 3-point range.

Junior guard Zak Irvin scored 19 to lead the Wolverines, sophomore guard Aubrey Dawkins scored 14 and sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. added 11.

Michigan has lost two straight at home after getting hammered by Indiana on Tuesday.

"Obviously, Michigan State is really a much better team than us," Beilein said. "They're really an elite team.

"I told Tom before the game, 'I've seen your teams for nine years. I've never seen a team execute the way they're executing right now.'"

Michigan State could hardly miss in the first 20 minutes, opening an 18-point lead midway through the half. Forbes was the catalyst, hitting seven of his nine 3-point attempts in the opening half, scoring 23 points to give the Spartans a 44-28 lead at halftime.

The Spartans got things rolling early as they hit their first five shots from long range and Michigan made just one of its first nine. The Wolverines were 4 of 16 from 3-point range in the opening half and Michigan State made 10 of 14.

Valentine had 12 points for Michigan State on 5-of-7 shooting but turned the ball over a couple of times.

Walton scored all 11 of his points in the first half, hitting two 3-ponters in the final minute to keep the Wolverines in the game.

Michigan State poured it on in the second half, never allowing Michigan to gain any momentum, pushing the lead to 30 points before emptying the bench.

The Spartans shot 64 percent from the field, their best showing of the season. On the flip side, they held the Wolverines to 45 percent, including 29 percent (8 of 28) from 3-point range for one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the Big Ten.

"It was a very complete win," Valentine said. "Out of all our wins, this might be the most impressive just because our defense was outstanding as far as guarding their motion and ball screens and things like that. And our offense pretty much got what it wanted."

NOTES: Michigan senior G Caris LeVert did not play because of a lower leg injury. The Wolverines' leading scorer has not played since Dec. 30. ... Michigan State sophomore G Tum Tum Nairn Jr. missed his sixth straight game with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He dressed but did not see game action. ... Michigan State has now won four straight in the series, including the last two in Ann Arbor.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan St   Michigan
Bryn Forbes 29 Scoring Zak Irvin 19
Denzel Valentine 8 Assists Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 4
Denzel Valentine 9 Rebounds Mark Donnal 3
Marvin Clark Jr 2 Free Throws Made Aubrey Dawkins 6
Matt Costello 2 Steals Derrick Walton Jr 3
Matt Costello 1 Blocks N/A
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan St 89 64.0 14-22 11-16 18 35 1 4 19
Michigan 73 44.8 8-28 13-16 10 18 0 11 9