Coming out of a timeout with 31.4 seconds on the clock, the Spartans had at least two solid looks at the basket plus one tip-in attempt just before time expired that hit the rim. As you can see in the video below, though, it didn't matter. Sophomore Keith Appling had his shot blocked by Jordan Morgan, and Draymond Green simply missed a runner in the paint.
Green finished the game with just seven points, less than half of the team-high 15.8 he's averaging on the season. Perhaps feeling a bit responsible for the loss, he guaranteed next month's rematch would go the other way. From ESPN's Wolverine Nation:
"They won three. Before that, how many how had they won?" Green said. "They got their little three, but they come to East Lansing in a few weeks.
"They better celebrate this one, because I can guarantee you they won't get one in East Lansing. You can quote me on that one."
[...] "Everybody can circle it," Green said. "Because I can guarantee you, to come in there and get a win, it's going to take a lot. So celebrate this one. Be happy with it. February 5th."
The Michigan State Spartans trailed the Michigan Wolverines on the road by 11 points with 12 minutes remaining, but rallied late to turn the game into an absolute nail-biter. They led going into the final two minutes, but gave up a transition opportunity in the final minute off of a missed jumper by Keith Appling, resulting in a Stu Douglass go-ahead layup. The Spartans had both a shot and a tip on an offensive rebound on their final possession, but missed both as Michigan won their third straight against the Spartans, 60-59.
Michigan played fantastic defense on the final possession, denying access to the lane and closing down on the Spartans' perimeter players to deny open shots. With 11 seconds left, Appling forced up a desperation shot that was blocked by Jordan Morgan. The Spartans got the ball back for one last opportunity, with Draymond Green creating a decent shot, but he failed to convert. He impressively followed his shot and got his hand to the rebound, but his tip hit the rim and bounced out as time expired.
Both teams had long runs during the course of the game, with State's late run the biggest of the game. After going down 47-39 in the second half, the Spartans rallied to go up 57-53 with just over four minutes remaining. However, they could only manage two more points in the final four minutes.
Trey Burke was the star, scoring 20 points on 8-11 shooting form the floor. Michigan State out-rebounded their opponents by an incredible margin of 31-15, but the Wolverines' 51 percent shooting from the floor was ultimately the difference.
