Michigan State bows out of the Big Ten Tournament early, falling 88-84 to UCLA in the quarterfinals
The Spartans struggled to defend UCLA's pick-and-roll offense and failed to convert near the basket
In the first meeting between the Michigan State Spartans and the UCLA Bruins on Feb. 17, the Green-and-White-clad home team raced to a 40-16 lead early and never looked back, cruising to an 82-59 victory while limiting UCLA to just 37% shooting from the field.
What a difference a month can make.
In the rematch in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago on Friday night, UCLA was able to ride some red-hot shooting in the first half and then was able to hold off a Spartan rally in final minutes to earn a ticket to the Big Ten semifinal on Saturday. UCLA defeated the Spartans, 88-84.
Michigan State dominated the Bruins on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 34-26, including an 16-to-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
But the Spartans shot a frigid 32% from the field in the first half including just 5-for-19 (26%) from two, which directly led to an 11-point deficit at the break. Overall the Spartans committed 12 turnovers to just eight for UCLA.
In contrast, UCLA shot 63% overall and 7-for-13 (54%) from deep in the first half and 30-for-54 (55.6%) overall.
The Spartans struggled to defend UCLA pick-and-roll offense, and Bruin's dynamic point guard Donovan Dent was able to consistently get into the paint where he either scored or found on open shooter on the perimeter. Dent finished with 23 points and 12 assists a day after posting the first triple double in Big Ten Tournament history.
Jeremey Fears led the Spartans with 21 points and 13 assists on 7-14 shooting, including going 2-for-3 from deep. Carson Cooper and Kur Teng contributed 13 points each and Coen Carr scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Fears (36) was the only Spartans to play more than 30 minutes of the game.
The teams traded punches early as the first eight minutes featured four lead changes. Neither team led by more than four points in this span. Jordan Scott and Coen Carr provided an early spark on offense including a four-point play from Scott and an incredible transition reserve dunk over teammate Carson Cooper by Carr.
But UCLA started to heat up from the outside at the 11-minute mark. Bruin Trent Perry hit back-to-back threes which kicked off a stretch of 8-for-10 shooting over the next seven minutes.
In the same stretch, the Spartans shot just 3-for-12 from the field as they watched UCLA grow the lead to as many as 13 points in the first stanza.
Michigan State was able to cut the lead down to seven points thanks to an offensive spurt from Jaxon Kohler with under two minutes to play in the half. But UCLA went on a 6-0 run in the final minute and the Spartans found themselves down 44-33 at the half.
Fears led the Spartans with seven points at the break. Fears also had four assists but three turnovers.
Carr contributed six points and Teng (five) was the only other Spartan with more than four points. Carr and Cameron Ward paced the rebounding effort with four apiece at the half.
Neither team started the second half shooting well. Michigan State hit only two of the first eight shots of the half while UCLA hit just three of 10. However, the Bruins were able to extend the lead to as large as 15 points with 15:11 left to play in the game.
The Spartans were able to chip away at the UCLA lead thanks in part to some baskets from Kur Teng and Trey Fort off the bench. Izzo opted for a smaller lineup in the second half which resulted in Fort and Kur playing nine and 15 minutes respectively after the break. With just over nine minutes to play, the Spartans were able to cut the lead down to just five points thanks to a three from Kohler.
The Spartans then went with the unorthodox backcourt of Scott, Teng, and Fort with Scott running the point for a handful of possessions as Izzo attempted to rest Fears. The result was a 6-0 run by UCLA that pushed the lead back into double digits.
But MSU continued to fight and answered with a 8-0 run including a three-point basket from Scott and an old fashioned three-point play from Fears to cut the lead down to 75-71 with 2:34 to play.
The Spartans gave up another wide open corner three and then Teng turned the ball over on a bad post feed to Cooper, leaving the Spartans down five points with just over a minute to play.
For a moment, it looked like Michigan State might be able to stage a miracle comeback. Dent missed the front end of a one-and-one and Teng responded with a quick three at the other end to cut the score to 80-78 with 0:43 remaining. But the Bruins' Perry was able to hit six consecutive free throws to close out the victory.
UCLA will face Purdue on Saturday afternoon for a chance to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Final. Michigan State will head back to East Lansing and will learn their next opponent and location on Selection Sunday.
