Filed under: Michigan State, Big Ten
For the second time in a week, Oakland gave a ranked Big Ten team a scare. This time it was No. 7 Michigan State, which escaped by the skin of its teeth with a 77-76 win in the Palace off Auburn Hills. The Spartans came into the season ranked No. 2 but have had a bit of a disappointing go. Sure, all three losses for the 7-3 team have come at the hands of teams ranked in the Top 10 -- and none were at home -- but seeing three marks in the "L" column at this point isn't exactly what the Spartans had in mind after two consecutive Final Fours and with most key components returning. A fourth one against a team from the Summitt League -- no matter how feisty the Golden Grizzlies are -- would have been disastrous.
Kalin Lucas, the diminutive former Big Ten player of the year, came through with a big game to help his Spartans avoid the upset with 25 points and five assists.
Larry Wright led Oakland with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Keith Benson added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
How It Was Won: Eventually Michigan State wore down Oakland with its tough defense and four talented scorers -- Lucas, Keith Appling (12 points), Draymond Green (11 points) and Durrell Summers (11 points).
How It Was Lost: The Spartans simply have superior talent. In the end, that was just too much for the Golden Grizzles -- even with how well Oakland played and how poorly MSU played for much of the game.
Key Stat: Oakland (5-5) shot itself in the foot by making only 11 of its 20 free throw attempts. That's gotta be a tough pill to swallow in a one-point loss.
What We Didn't Like: While Lucas soared, Korie Lucious sunk. The backup point guard (who really plays too many minutes to be considered a true backup) missed all eight of his field goal attempts and ended with just four points. In Big Ten play, Lucious has to play better than that or the Spartans won't be coming away with wins.
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