Michigan State vs Minnesota Basketball Recap

Michigan State 60, Minnesota 53

 
Chris Allen rarely plays his very best basketball, and moreover, he didn't bring his most fabulous form to the Jack Breslin Center on Wednesday night in East Lansing, Mich. However, when his team needed a contribution, its junior guard was able to answer the bell.

Allen scored only 7 points in Michigan State's seven-point win over Minnesota, but five of those points proved to be immensely valuable and timely.

The native of Lawrenceville, Ga., is the kind of player who will make Michigan State almost unbeatable if he can consistently stick his outside jumper and maintain focus throughout the course of a season, but all too often, Allen fades into the background and retreats from prominence just as soon as he acquires a piece of the spotlight. Thrust into a typical Big Ten grinder against Tubby Smith's defense-minded Golden Gophers, Allen didn't light up the scoreboard on MSU's home court, but he made the biggest plays of Sparty's fourth conference win in as many outings.

After amassing a 48-38 advantage with 11:13 left, the Spartans went stone cold from the field. They tallied only one field goal in roughly seven minutes, and just before the four-minute mark of regulation, they found themselves clinging to a 51-49 edge. It was then that Allen left his imprint on this encounter. Coach Tom Izzo had to be immensely pleased when Allen hit a 3-pointer at the 4:15 mark to give his team an ever-so-slight cushion, 54-49. Nearly three minutes later, after another mini-drought from the Spartans, it was Allen who simultaneously revived and rescued Michigan State with a bucket that re-established another five-point advantage (56-51) with 1:35 remaining. Guard Kalin Lucas proved to be nails at the foul line, and Minnesota wasn't heard from again. While the Gophers are still in decent shape at 3-2 in the Big Ten, it's Sparty who joins Illinois at 4-0.

Guess who visits the Breslin Center this Saturday? Yeah, you knew it was coming: The Illini, of course.

Two more details put this Spartan success story into perspective: For all the ugliness of this game, you can't knock the Spartans' defensive effort. MSU has allowed an average of 51 points in its last three Big Ten games. An offshoot of MSU's teamwide effort is found in the fact that Sparty's bench destroyed Minnesota in this game. MSU's reserves outscored the Gopher backups, 27-3, a very substantial stat in a game decided by only three possessions.

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