EAST LANSING, Mich. — Coming off Tuesday’s double-overtime victory over No. 4 Kentucky, Tom Izzo was on the lookout for his team getting a little too impressed with itself.
As Izzo describes, “fat and sassy.”
For almost 40 minutes on Friday, there was no sign of that as Michigan State opened a 15-point lead with less than eight minutes to play. Villanova came storming back, though, and took a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would've won the game.
However, the shot from Eric Dixon banged off the rim and Michigan State held on for a 73-71 victory at the Breslin Center as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
Tyson Walker scored 22 to lead Michigan State (3-1), nearly single-handedly holding the late lead on his own as he scored six of the Spartans’ final eight points. Joey Hauser and A.J. Hoggard, who had 10 assists and eight rebounds, each scored 13 with Malik Hall adding 12 and Jaden Akins nine.
Dixon led the way for Villanova (2-2) with Brandon Slater adding 16 points and Caleb Daniels pitching in 13.
It took Michigan State a minute to find its offensive rhythm as the Spartans were just 3 for 11 to open the game, struggling to handle the defensive effort from Villanova. It led to contested jumpers and too many turnovers as the Wildcats eventually took a 14-11 lead with just less than 10 minutes to play in the first half.
But the Spartans soon started to find their groove, outscoring the Wildcats 8-2 over the next two minutes on 3-pointers from Hoggard and Walker. Another Hoggard triple kept things rolling as Michigan State put together a 20-6 surge, making seven straight shots at one point to take a 31-20 lead with 2:28 left in the half.
Walker added another triple after a Villanova bucket then just missed an open 3-pointer at the buzzer as Michigan State took a 34-24 lead into the halftime locker room.
The teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half as it once again took a minute for both teams to find their offensive rhythm. But when Jaden Akins hammered home a dunk in transition to give Michigan State a 47-36 lead with 13:26 to play, the home crowd erupted.
Akins then scored on a put-back and Walker scored on a contested layup as Michigan State pushed the lead to 51-39 with just more than 12 minutes left. After Mady Sissoko split a pair of free throws, Hauser buried third triple before Walker hit back-to-back jumpers, pushing the Spartans’ lead to 59-43 with nine minutes left in the game.
Villanova, however, did not go quietly. A 3-pointer from Brendan Hausen and a three-point play from Slater cut the Michigan State lead to 66-58 with 3:29 left in the game. A 3-pointer from Daniels pulled the Wildcats within 65-61 before Walker answered with a triple of his own. Another Walker jumper put MSU up 70-63, but Villanova got a 3 from Dixon and the teams traded layups before an MSU turnover led to a Villanova 3-pointer and a 72-71 Michigan State lead with 50 seconds to play.
Walker then split a pair of free throws before Villanova missed on the final possession.
