Michigan State fends off Minnesota, faces Purdue next

Field Level Media|published: Thu 14th March, 14:18 2024

Michigan State forward Coen Carr (55) dribbles against Minnesota guard Braeden Carrington (4) during the first half of Second Round of Big Ten tournament at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. on Thursday, March 14, 2024. credits: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

A.J. Hoggard had 17 points and six assists as No. 8 seed Michigan State pulled away from No. 9 seed Minnesota 77-67 in the Big Ten tournament at Minneapolis on Thursday afternoon.

Tyson Walker contributed 15 points and four assists as the Spartans (19-13), who had lost four of their last five games, enhanced their NCAA Tournament resume. They will face No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday.

Dawson Garcia led the Golden Gophers (18-14) with 19 points. Parker Fox, Cam Christie and Pharrel Payne added 11 points apiece for Minnesota, which has lost five of its last six games.

Minnesota scored the first seven points but Michigan State quickly recovered. The Spartans took a 14-10 lead when Tre Holloman made a steal and fed Malik Hall for a fast-break dunk.

The Golden Gophers responded with an 11-0 run, capped by Garcia's 3-pointer. Michigan State regained the advantage at 26-25 on a pair of Hoggard free throws.

Garcia's layup with a minute to go gave Minnesota a 34-32 lead. That's the way the half ended, with Garcia leading all scorers with 10 points.

Early in the second half, Walker made a steal and fed Hoggard for a layup. Hoggard returned the favor a minute later, yet the Golden Gophers still held the lead as Payne scored six points during the first two minutes.

The Spartans eventually took the lead at 44-43 on a Hoggard layup. Minnesota quickly regained the advantage on a 3-pointer from Christie and a three-point play by Hawkins.

An 8-0 spurt, capped by a Holloman bucket, by Michigan State gave it a 52-49 lead with 11 minutes left. After a Garcia layup, the Spartans scored seven unanswered points to make it 59-51. Hall finished off that spurt with a layup.

Garcia hit a turnaround jumper with five minutes to go, cutting the Spartans' lead to six. Walker's layup with 3:56 remaining nudged the advantage to eight again at 67-59. After Fox missed two free throws, Walker knocked down a pullup jumper.

The Golden Gophers never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

—Field Level Media

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