On Saturday night, Michigan State basketball earned one of their most satisfying wins of the season, taking down their rival, Michigan, in Ann Arbor 73-63.
This was an important one for MSU for many reasons. This team now has won three conference road games, something that has been extremely hard for them, and many other teams, to come by this season.
It also featured another dominant performance from Malik Hall (18 points), who, along with Tyson Walker (19 points), led the Spartans in scoring. This has been extremely encouraging sign as Michigan State approaches March.
After the game, Tom Izzo, A.J. Hoggard, Tyson Walker and Malik Hall all spoke to the media, and you can find each of those interviews below, which were recorded and posted on YouTube by SpartanMag.com. Juwan Howard, Tarris Reed Jr. and Nimari Burnett also spoke to the media, and their session was recorded by UMHoops.com.
Tom Izzo
Izzo was complimentary of Michigan’s play, and also noted how happy the team was for Davis Smith, who hit two huge free throws at the end of the first half.
Juwan Howard
Coach Howard was critical of his team’s turnover issues, which he also credited Michigan State’s defense for, but did say his team hurt themselves down the stretch.
Malik Hall
Malik Hall gave an interesting anecdote explaining how his mindset changed over the holiday break, allowing him to re-focus and setup this recent streak of stellar play.
Tyson Walker
Tyson Walker talked about how his perspective on the rivalry has changed since he joined the team as a transfer. For Tyson, it was just big that it was another road win, something that has eluded them so often this year. He was also critical of, and took accountability for, his own mental mistakes on defense. He also credited the bench for their great play.
A.J. Hoggard
In this one, A.J. has some jokes about his two missed free throws and also talked about his next two plays following that, which ultimately helped swing and seal the game for MSU.
