Michigan and Michigan State met for the second time in 10 days. The Spartans won the first battle in East Lansing, 70-62, on Jan. 29. The Wolverines staged a come back with a 86-57 win tonight at Crisler Center.
The in-state rivalry dates back to Jan. 9, 1909, with Michigan leading the all-time series against Michigan State 98-81. U-M holds a 61-31 record when playing at home.
Derrick Walton Jr. reached a huge milestone tonight that only two other Wolverines in program history have achieved. Walton joined Gary Grant and Jalen Rose in the U-M 1,000 point, 400 rebound and 400 assist club with 1,224 points, 400 rebounds, and 493 assists.
U-M had six steals on the night as well as 18 assists on 32 made field goals. The Maize and Blue scored 30 points off turnovers.
In the first half the Wolverines shot 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from beyond the arc as well as 71.4 percent (5-for-7) from the line and 75 percent (21-for-28) from the field.
Muhammed-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored a season-high 16 points tonight.
The Michigan defense forced 21 turnovers from Michigan State, while only giving up eight. The last time U-M forced more than 20 turnover was against Towson on Nov. 14, 2011.
Freshmen Xavier Simpson had a great game tonight tying his career-high seven points and recording one rebound and two assists during his 12 minutes of play.
U-M will close the week with a second meeting against Indiana. After a 90-65 win at Crisler Center (Jan. 26), U-M heads to Bloomington, Indiana, for a 1 p.m. tip on Sunday (Feb. 12) on CBS.
