Michigan Wolverines

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Some thoughts after No. 8 Michigan State's 75-52 pulverizing of No. 4 Michigan on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center.

Overview: As Adreian Payne lifted his arms toward the home crowd, trying to get it louder with 7 minutes remaining in a game no longer in doubt, the Spartans forward looked like he wanted more.

All of Michigan State appeared to want more. Meanwhile, Michigan looked like it just wanted to travel the one hour southeast back to Ann Arbor as fast as possible. The Wolverines had already gone deeper than usual into their bench to play guard Eso Akunne and by then it didn’t matter, because nothing John Beilein's team was doing worked.

Michigan State dominated, almost from tip to final whistle.

Yes, it is tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, but for a program touted as a national-title contender all season, this was Michigan’s last chance to win a significant road game in the Big Ten. And it failed. Miserably.

The second-half comebacks Michigan had at Indiana and Ohio State didn’t show up, either, mostly due to Michigan State’s ability to control the paint and body up the Wolverines’ big men.

It all led to Michigan State’s first 20-plus-point victory over Michigan in over a decade, when the Spartans beat the Wolverines 71-44 on Jan. 30, 2002.

Turning point: Michigan State guard Keith Appling made three consecutive jumpers, including a 3-pointer in transition with 16:32 left, to give Michigan State a 48-29 lead and whipped the already-hyper Breslin student section into a loud, jumping, delirious frenzy of white shirts going nuts at every possible opportunity.

Key player: Spartans senior Derrick Nix punished Michigan’s four-headed big-man rotation inside in the first half and helped to open up everything else for the Spartans. Nix finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 7-of-10 shooting.

Key stat: Zero first-half points for Tim Hardaway Jr. After scoring 18, 23 and 18 points in the previous three games, respectively, Hardaway couldn’t find anything in the first half. He missed all six of his shots, including four 3-pointers. This from a player who brought Michigan back a week earlier against Ohio State by making six 3-pointers, then followed it up by making what was almost the game-winner at Wisconsin on Saturday. Without Hardaway's production, Michigan struggled to shoot 27.3 percent from the 3-point line in the first half. Hardaway would finish with two points.

Miscellaneous: Michigan football coach Brady Hoke, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, former coach Lloyd Carr and former Michigan basketball player Zack Novak all watched the game from behind the Wolverines' bench. Hoke and Michigan State counterpart Mark Dantonio had a brief chat before the game right behind the benches. … After not scoring in double figures for almost a month, Nix now had back-to-back games with 10 points or more.… This ends a rough four-game stretch for Michigan, which started the sequence as the No. 1 team in the nation. After a 1-3 swing with games at Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin and a home game against Ohio State, the Wolverines have some major regrouping to do.

Next game: Both teams receive something of a breather in the Big Ten. Michigan State travels to Nebraska for a game Saturday; Michigan has a home game against Penn State on Sunday.

Denard Robinson didn't fall for the bait.

And considering he has never been on the winning side in a Paul Bunyan Trophy game, perhaps it's just as well.

Robinson said Tuesday evening that he had heard about some less-than-complimentary tweets a few select Michigan State Spartans had made about his play against Alabama on Saturday night (11 of 26, 200 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions), but he didn't enter the fray.

"I heard about it but I don't think about it," Robinson said. "I'm not even worried about that right now."

Mark Dantonio was worried about it. The coach has played up the Michigan State-Michigan rivalry ever since he took the Spartans' head job. But Dantonio also knows there's a line that shouldn't be crossed when discussing a rival, and in his mind, several of his players crossed it this past weekend.

In case you missed it, several Michigan State players took to Twitter to mock Robinson and the Wolverines during their 41-14 loss to the Tide. Spartans starting linebacker Denicos Allen tweeted that Tommy Vento, a walk-on quarterback for Michigan State, is better than Robinson. Redshirt freshman safety Kyle Artinian was more direct, reportedly tweeting, "DENARD IS SOOOO BAD!" Freshman linebacker Jamal Lyles added, "I can play quarterback for the school in blue."

All the Robinson tweets were later deleted, but Dantonio wasn't too pleased about the Twitter display when asked about it earlier on Tuesday. He called it "disrespectful" and said he would address the matter with his players. He even brought up Michigan State's blowout loss to Alabama in the 2011 Capital One Bowl.

"Our guys need to keep their mouths shut," Dantonio added. "That blunt enough? … Especially the ones not even playing."

Allen appeared to show some restraint early in the Michigan-Alabama game, tweeting, "I really wanna say somethin about this team I'm watchin... But I'm not." But then he soon added, "I coulda told all of y'all that this was gonna happen just to save y'all the pain."

Allen's last tweet about the situation came out Sunday afternoon: "Lol well apparently I hurt a lot of feelings sorry guys lol I guess we have to wait till October 20th to play some real football #GoGreen."

Michigan plays host Michigan State on Oct. 20. In case a four-game losing streak to the Spartans wasn't enough motivation for Robinson and his teammates, Michigan State players supplied them with some more.

"You need to approach this game with humility," Dantonio said. "When this becomes personal, that's when it crosses the line."

Wolverines linebacker Desmond Morgan shrugged off the controversy.

"I haven't really read much into it or paid much attention to it," Morgan said. "People are going to say what they say, I guess. We have our quarterback's back and we're a team and we've got each others backs. We're not worried about it."

This report containts material from Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg and WolverineNation writer Chantel Jennings.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Some thoughts following No. 10 Michigan State's 64-54 win over No. 22 Michigan at the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon.

Player of the game: Michigan State forward Draymond Green. The Spartans senior, after losing to Michigan, 60-59, on Jan. 17, guaranteed his team would win in East Lansing today. And any time Michigan tried to make a run, Green responded. He hit turnaround jumpers on the baseline and in the paint. He grabbed critical rebounds and he did it while still recovering from a left knee injury. He finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and four assists.

Unsung hero of the game: Michigan State guard Keith Appling. Against Michigan in Ann Arbor, Appling struggled. He couldn't keep up with Michigan freshman guard Trey Burke and was off offensively as well. On Sunday, he was good on both ends. He drove the lane confidently and guarded Burke strongly -- denying him entries into the lane. Appling had 10 points, two assists and three steals.

Stat of the game: Michigan couldn't rebound much at all. Green -- a one-man machine in his final regular season game against the Wolverines -- had as many rebounds as Michigan as a team . Green had 16 rebounds. Michigan also had 16.

Second guessing: Michigan sophomore guard Tim Hardaway Jr. had one of the worst games of his career on Sunday. He couldn't get anything going from the outside or driving the ball -- shooting 1 of 10 from the field and scoring two points. He also missed his first four shots of the second half when the Wolverines were trying to make a run.

What it means: After three straight wins for Michigan, the Spartans ensured they wouldn't go two seasons in a row without beating Michigan. For Green, it means he finishes the regular season portion of his career with a 4-3 record against Michigan. The two teams could met again in the Big Ten tournament, of course.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Here are some quick thoughts following No. 19 Michigan's 60-59 win over No. 9 Michigan State.

Turning point: Trey Burke grabbed a long rebound off a Keith Appling miss, drove the court and dished the ball to Stu Douglass for a layup and a 60-59 lead, which would be the final margin. It was the final twist for a back-and-forth game that saw both teams lead and saw the Spartans come back from a double-digit deficit.

Player of the game: Burke. The freshman carried Michigan on Tuesday night. He scored a game-high 20 points, but more than anything else, he controlled the pace of play for both teams. He also drove smartly and took tough shots -- including a quick 26-foot 3-pointer to tie the game at 52-52 with 5:28 left. This was the game where he went from an option for the Wolverines to the first option.

Unsung hero of the game: Michigan senior guard Stu Douglass. His stat sheet wasn't huge, but he scored nine points, made the game-winning basket and is the calming influence for Michigan's budding star in Burke. Also, he had his first start of the season tonight.

What it means: Michigan has now beaten Michigan State three straight times -- the first time that has happened since a five-game win streak from 1996 to '98. It also might turn the tide in a rivalry that had been majorly one-sided for Michigan State. It also gives the Wolverines a signature win for March in January.

Turning point: Michigan scored on back-to-back layups -- first with a Trey Burke drive and dish to Stu Douglass, who one-touched it to Jordan Morgan for a layup. Then Burke stole the ball in the Michigan State backcourt and drove in for another layup to give Michigan a 30-20 lead.

Best player in the half: Burke has been sensational. The freshman, who has improved steadily throughout the course of the season, controlled the pace of the game. He finished with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal -- but more impressive was how he drove to the lane, beating Michigan State guard Keith Appling and whomever else the Spartans had guarding him.



What Michigan needs to do, What Michigan State needs to do: Michigan -- Get Tim Hardaway Jr. more involved. The star sophomore has continued in his slump, shooting 0 of 3 from the field, 0 of 2 from the 3-point line and picked up all four of his points from the free-throw line. If Hardaway Jr. finds his game, Michigan could be in line to win its third straight against Michigan State. Michigan State -- Go inside more. One of Michigan's big weaknesses is interior defense and the Spartans have three guys who can really hurt Michigan there in Derrick Nix, Adreian Payne and Draymond Green. Combined, they have 15 points and 11 rebounds, but seven of those boards are from Green. Meanwhile Morgan, who is perpetually in foul trouble, hasn't picked up any.