Michigan steals win away from rival Michigan State
A 10-point lead had slipped away in the final minutes, and it looked like the best Trey Burke and Michigan could hope for was another chance in overtime.
Then the star point guard decided to gamble, reaching in and knocking the ball away from Michigan State’s Keith Appling with the game on the line.
“I take my eyes off it for a second to see their formation, and there’s Trey going down the other end,” Wolverines coach John Beilein said.
Burke’s steal and dunk put Michigan ahead by two with 22 seconds remaining, and the fourth-ranked Wolverines held on for a pulsating 58-57 win over No. 9 Michigan State on Sunday. Burke had 21 points and eight assists, and he had enough energy left down the stretch to help Michigan to a much-needed victory.
The Wolverines avenged a 75-52 loss at Michigan State last month – and they rebounded from Wednesday night’s stunning defeat at Penn State with an inspired performance at home.
The Spartans (22-7, 11-5 Big Ten) had the ball with the shot clock off and the score 56-all, but Burke stole the ball from Appling near midcourt and went in alone for the game’s last field goal.
“I really wasn’t pressuring him as hard as I felt like I could, the whole game,” Burke said. “I tried to turn him as many times as possible. The one time I did turn him, he kept the ball out, so I just went after it. If I was going to miss it, then I was going to be out of the play.”
Instead, he ended up with a dunk, giving Michigan (24-5, 11-5) the lead. Michigan State’s Derrick Nix was fouled with 8.8 seconds left, but he missed the first free throw. After he made the second, the Spartans fouled Michigan freshman Mitch McGary, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Michigan State called a timeout with 4.9 seconds left but never got a shot off. Burke stole a pass by Gary Harris to end the game.
The Michigan State loss clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for Indiana.
Purdue 69, Wisconsin 56: D.J. Byrd scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half and Purdue upset No. 17 Wisconsin 69-56.
Terone Johnson added 16 points for the Boilermakers (14-15, 7-9 Big Ten), who had lost three straight road games and four of five overall. Purdue took control with a 21-3 run in the second half during which Byrd had nine points and Johnson eight.
Jared Berggren scored 13 points and Ryan Evans and Sam Dekker had 10 apiece for the Badgers (20-9, 11-5), who had won six of their previous seven.
North Carolina State 70, Georgia Tech 57: Richard Howell scored 18 points all in the first half and North Carolina State continued its late-season surge in the ACC by beating Georgia Tech 70-57.
Boston College 53, Virginia 52:Joe Rahon scored 15 points, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer as he was fouled with 8.2 seconds left to give Boston College a 53-52 victory over Virginia.
North Carolina 79, Florida State 58: James Michael McAdoo scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half that gave North Carolina a big lead on the way to beating Florida State 79-58.
Washington 72, Washington State 68: Scott Suggs hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 4 minutes remaining and finished with 23 points, and Washington beat rival Washington State 72-68, handing the Cougars their ninth straight loss.