Forbes lights it up as MSU routs U-M, 89-73
Shooters often top scouting reports because their long shots lift their teams emotionally, demoralize opponents and count for three points.
It was easy to predict and obvious to see Saturday that Michigan sniper Duncan Robinson was the focus of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo’s game plan. It was not easy to see what Michigan had in mind for MSU’s Bryn Forbes.
The senior guard drained seven of his career-high eight triples in the first half – most of them with no Wolverines in the immediate vicinity – fellow senior Denzel Valentine flirted with another triple double and the No. 10 Spartans routed U-M in the team’s only regular-season meeting, 89-73, at sold-out Crisler Center.
“We went with our horses, and our horses responded,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said of his trio of senior standouts, after Matt Costello delivered 14 points, eight rebounds and max emotion to improve his and Valentine’s record against U-M to 5-3.
Forbes finished 8-for-10 from three for 29 points, and MSU was 14-for-22 from long range as a team – making it 47 threes in the Spartans’ past three games.
“I was surprised about a couple of them,” Forbes said of the clean looks. “When I was extremely open, it was kind of like, I took and extra step and I was like, ‘Yeah, I really am this open.’ It felt good, though.”
Pursued by U-M, Valentine & Costello now MSU's nucleus
Valentine had 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in MSU’s fourth straight win this season and fourth straight win in the series. This after he texted Izzo late Friday night and vowed to step up in the rivalry game.
And this after Costello was so emotional in pre-game warmups, he said he was “bawling like a little baby” during pre-game introductions.
The Spartans (20-4, 7-4 Big Ten) led by as much as 30 before a late U-M run with its reserves, and even after the late sloppiness finished 64% from the floor.
The Wolverines (17-7, 7-4) got 19 points from Zak Irvin, 14 from Aubrey Dawkins and 11 from Derrick Walton. But Robinson, averaging 12.6 points and 3.17 threes a game, had just two points and five shots, and was 0-for-3 from three.
That was a group effort led by Valentine, whom Izzo said has become one of MSU’s best defenders, after early in his career he “couldn’t guard my mother and other people of that age.”
“I just wanted to make sure his confidence didn’t get going early,” Valentine said of Robinson. “So I just got in him early, really, and pretty much let him know that he wasn’t gonna have a good day.”
One last run: Hometown stars Valentine, Forbes chase MSU legacy
U-M played without leading scorer and best all-around player Caris LeVert for the 10th straight game with a leg injury. MSU was missing starting point guard Tum Tum Nairn (foot) for a sixth straight game, but the Spartans have figured some things out in his absence.
“Guys like Bryn and Eron (Harris) have stepped up a little bit,” Izzo said. “That’s the difference in our team right now, I think. We are getting better looks because we are defending better.”
Izzo was able to stay with his big lineup and still make things tough on U-M’s offense. He improves to 9-10 at Michigan – and seven of his first eight teams to win at Crisler went on to the Final Four.
“We’ve got a lot to work on to be a championship team, I think,” Valentine said. “But we’re making progress and we’re getting confidence at the right time.”