WATCH: Gabe Brown throws down massive alley-oop dunk as exclamation point vs. Michigan
That’s how you seal a victory over your in-state rival.
Michigan State came out firing after halftime against Michigan on Saturday and never looked back in its 83-67 win. The Spartans went from a four-point halftime lead to a 20-point lead with 3:23 remaining thanks to an impressive alley-oop from AJ Hoggard to Gabe Brown.
The Breslin Center was humming all game, but the crowd erupted when Brown threw down the dunk. It was the exclamation mark to an impressive bounce-back after a rough first half.
In the first half, Michigan State shot 51.7% from the field and 54.5% from three-point territory. But the Spartans committed nine turnovers, and Michigan turned those into nine points to stay in the game.
The second half was a much different story. Michigan State outscored Michigan 44-32 and shot 59.3% from the field to come away with the big victory.
With the win, Michigan State improved to 16-4 overall and 7-2 in Big Ten play. Michigan dropped to 10-8 on the year, including 4-4 in conference action.
AJ Hoggard fakes out defenders to put Michigan State up double figures
Michigan State went from a four-point halftime lead to a double-digit second-half lead against Michigan on Saturday. Guard AJ Hoggard was a big part of that.
Hoggard took the ball down low and appeared to kick it out for a pass. Instead, he faked it and had the Michigan defenders run right past him as he made a fadeaway jumper with 16 minutes to play. The shot put Michigan State up 10 points as part of a fast start to the second half for the Spartans.
That basket gave Hoggard seven points off the bench as part of a balanced Michigan State scoring attack. The No. 10-ranked Spartans were coming off a tough loss to Illinois earlier this week while the Wolverines held on to defeat Northwestern on Wednesday night.