INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — No. 7 Michigan State’s second meeting with No. 23 Oregon this season was not nearly the test it was the first time around.
The Spartans and No. 8-seeded Ducks faced off in Friday’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where No. 1-seeded Michigan State’s championship presence translated over to a 74-64 victory for the Green and White.
Just as he did in their first meeting, Spartan freshman guard Jase Richardson led the way for Michigan State, this time scoring 17 points. He was one of four Spartans to finish in double figures in scoring.
The others were senior guard Jaden Akins (12), redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (11) and sophomore forward Coen Carr.
Kohler kicked off the scoring for the Spartans, drilling a 3 that would ignite an 8-0 start.
It didn’t take long for the Ducks to catch up, though, eventually tying it at 13 apiece with under 13 minutes to go before the break.
Oregon would take its first lead of the game with 11:21 to go before Akins quickly took it back with a triple.
Shortly after, Michigan State would make its third 3-pointer of the contest, though from an unlikely face, as sophomore forward Coen Carr drained one from the corner to make it a 27-25 game with 7:16 to go in the half.
Oregon senior guard TJ Bamba answered that with a 3 of his own, but an 8-1 run from the Spartans would spark a resurgence of momentum for them, putting them up 35-30 with less than 3 minutes remaining before halftime.
Michigan State would finish the half on an 11-2 run that would put it up 10 at halftime.
While the Spartans struggled to the charity stripe in the first half, they were able to shoot a solid 51.6% from the field and 66.7% from deep, going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
They forced Oregon to commit nine turnovers in the first half while dominating the Ducks on the boards, 18-9.
Michigan State got off to a slow start to begin the second half, while Oregon scored 6 unanswered points to cut the lead down to 4. That was the first leg of an 11-2 run for the Ducks, which brought them all the way back to within a point.
But the Spartans weren’t going to roll over.
Michigan State responded with a 10-0 run that included 4 points apiece from Carr and senior forward Frankie Fidler, who made the Spartans’ fifth triple of the game.
Michigan State would take an 11-point lead, its largest of the game until that point, with roughly 12 minutes to play.
That run grew to 15-0 to with a pair of buckets from Richardson, including yet another one from downtown. That gave Michigan State a 16-point edge with about 10-and-a-half minutes remaining in the contest.
The lead never grew any larger than that, as Oregon kept punching, doing just enough to stay within reach. Its second-half effort was led by senior center Nate Bittle, who scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the final 20.
But Michigan State did enough on its part to hold off the Ducks.
Oregon did cut the deficit down to 7 in the final minute, but a Flagrant 1 foul called against Bamba all but sealed the deal. Richardson hurt his head on the play but was able to knock down one of the two free throws.
Michigan State advances to Saturday’s semifinal, where it will play the winner of No.4-seeded UCLA and No. 5-seeded Wisconsin.
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