Feb 23, 2014 3 min read

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Nik Stauskas scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half, and No. 20 Michigan beat No. 13 Michigan State 79-70 Sunday to take over first place in the Big Ten.

Caris LeVert added 23 points for the Wolverines (11-3, 19-7), who won both regular-season meetings against their in-state rivals. Michigan has won six of its last eight against Michigan State.

The Spartans (11-4, 22-6) led by as many as 11 in the first half, but Michigan State was only up 36-34 at halftime. Then Stauskas and LeVert led a second-half charge. The Wolverines trailed 52-51 before going on a decisive 17-4 run that sent the Crisler Center crowd into delirium.

Gary Harris scored 21 points for Michigan State.

Michigan has a chance to earn its second Big Ten title in three years after tying for the championship in 2012. The Wolverines have home games against Minnesota and Indiana still to come, along with trips to Purdue and Illinois. Michigan State has home games against Illinois and Iowa followed by a trip to Ohio State.

Stauskas was terrific in Michigan’s 80-75 win at Michigan State last month, but opposing defenses have geared up to stop him lately, and the 6-6 guard was reluctant to force things. That all changed in a big way in the second half Sunday.

With the Wolverines down 48-43, Stauskas scored seven straight points to give Michigan the lead. When the Spartans edged back ahead by one, Stauskas answered with a 3-pointer, and it soon become clear that there wasn’t much Michigan State could do to keep him from simply shooting over defenders on the perimeter.

A 3-pointer by Stauskas from the right wing put Michigan ahead 59-52, then LeVert added a 3-pointer and a dunk.

No. 11 Creighton 72, Seton Hall 71: Doug McDermott had 29 points to become one of the top-10 scorers in college basketball history, and No. 11 Creighton survived shaky free throw shooting at the end to post a hard-earned 72-71 victory over Seton Hall.

Grant Gibbs added a season-high 16 points, and the Bluejays (13-2, 23-4) took a half-game lead over Villanova in the Big East standings.

Fuquan Edwin had 21 points to lead the Pirates (5-9, 14-13), who have lost four of five.

SMU 64, No. 21 Connecticut 55: Nick Russell and Nic Moore each scored 15 points to lead SMU to a 64-55 win over No. 21 UConn and a sweep of their season series with the Huskies.

Markus Kennedy added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Mustangs (11-4 American, 22-6), who have won 11 of their last 13 games.

Ryan Boatright and Shabazz Napier combined to shoot 8 for 28 for Connecticut (9-5, 21-6), but each had 15 points. The Huskies had won four in a row and 10 of 12.

The Mustangs never trailed. They led by two at halftime, but extended that to 10 points midway through the second half.

The Huskies cut the lead to 55-49 on a 3-pointer by Napier, but Sterling Brown answered with a 3-pointer and SMU held on down the stretch.

The Mustang defense held UConn to 16 baskets and just under 30 percent shooting from the floor.