Michigan State defeats Minnesota and advances to play Purdue.

March 14 – On Thursday afternoon in the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis, No. 8 seed Michigan State defeated No. 9 seed Minnesota 77-67 thanks to 17 points and six assists from A.J. Hoggard.
With Tyson Walker’s 15 points and four assists, the Spartans (19-13), who had dropped their previous five games, improved their record in the NCAA Tournament. On Friday, they take on Purdue, the number one seed.
With 19 points, Dawson Garcia led the Golden Gophers (18-14). Minnesota, which has dropped five of its previous six games, had 11 points apiece from Parker Fox, Cam Christie, and Pharrel Payne.

The first seven points were scored by Minnesota, but Michigan State rallied fast. Tre Holloman stole the ball and found Malik Hall for a fast-break dunk to give the Spartans a 14–10 lead.
Garcia’s three-pointer sealed an 11-0 run by the Golden Gophers in response. Two Hoggard free throws gave Michigan State the lead back at 25-25.
With one minute remaining, Garcia’s layup put Minnesota ahead 34–32. With 10 points, Garcia led all scorers at the end of the first half.

Walker stole the ball early in the second half and found Hoggard for a layup. After Hoggard returned the favor a minute later, Payne scored six points in the opening two minutes, but the Golden Gophers still had the advantage.
After a Hoggard layup, the Spartans eventually took the lead, 44–43. Christie’s 3-pointer and Hawkins’ three-point play gave Minnesota the lead back soon.
With 11 minutes remaining, Michigan State led 52-49 after an 8-0 run that was capped by a basket from Holloman. Following a layup by Garcia, the Spartans scored seven straight points to take a 59-51 lead. Hall made a layup to cap off that run.

Five minutes remained, and Garcia made a turnaround jumper to trim the Spartans’ lead to six. With 3:56 left, Walker’s layup pushed the lead to eight once more, 67-59. Walker converted a pull-up jumper after Fox missed two free throw attempts.
For the remainder of the game, the Golden Gophers never got closer than seven points.