No. 1 Michigan State grinds out win over Florida to remain unbeaten

EAST LANSING -- On a night Michigan State's last national championship team was in the stands, the team on the floor had to fight and claw to send a packed Breslin Center crowd home happy.

The Spartans overcame a poor shooting effort and a subpar performance by Denzel Valentine to beat Florida, 58-52, Saturday night.

The win moves the Spartans to 11-0, the second-best start in program history and one win shy of tying the 2000-01 team.

But in Michigan State's second game as the No. 1 team in the major polls, it hardly looked the part.

The Spartas held a slim lead for most of the first 30 minutes, then Florida took its first lead of the game at 9:48, on a 3-pointer by Dorian Finney-Smith.

Michigan State quickly regained the lead on back-to-back baskets by Marvin Clark and Javon Bess, and locked down on defense in the final six minutes to remain unbeaten.

Florida, meanwhile, turned the ball over four times after that and returned to its poor shooting ways, going just 3 for 11 from the floor to close the game and just one field goal in the final 5:41.

The Spartans had their worst shooting half of the season to open the game, hitting just 31 percent from the field and 2-of-12 3-pointers. But they was bailed out by a Florida team that shot even worse (28.1 percent), and MSU led by two at the break.

Valentine led Michigan State with 17 points despite going 5 for 17 from the floor and 3 for 11 from 3-point range. Bryn Forbes added 12 on 5-of-11 shooting.

The Spartans now take a week off for final exams before traveling to Northeastern on Dec. 19.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Sophomore forward Marvin Clark helped seal the game for Michigan State, scoring five points in a stretch of less than four minutes late. One of those baskets was an impressive second-effort tip-in that gave his team a six-point lead.

• Matt Costello had one of his better games of the season, going 4 for 6 for eight points and six rebounds. He played strong defense, particularly inside early against Gators big man John Egbunu, and also had a critical steal with three minutes left.

• Tom Izzo harped on offensive rebounding entering the game, after MSU had performed poorly in that area against Maryland Eastern Shore. The Spartans responded, winning the offensive rebounding battle, 16-12, and the total rebounding battle, 45-34.

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LOWLIGHTS

• Valentine and Forbes had as poor a stretch of shooting as they've had all year, combining to go 3 for 14 from the field and 1 for 9 from 3-point range in the first half. Both had their share of open shots, but simultaneously missed looks they've made all year. Valentine also took more ill-advised shots than he has all year, though, and was benched for more than seven minutes in the second half.

• The Spartans were uncharacteristically careless with the ball, particularly in the first half, when they had nine turnovers. They finished the game with 12. Michigan State's best ballhandlers were the biggest culprits: Valentine, Eron Harris and Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn had two turnovers apiece.

• Florida had a second-half possession that will undoubtedly draw some ire in the film room: the Gators recorded four straight offensive rebounds, beating the Spartans to several loose balls. The last of those rebounds was grabbed by Florida's Devin Robinson as he crashed in from the baseline and recorded a putback.

NOTES

• Michigan State's Big Ten championship football team was honored during a first-half timeout and Spartans coach Mark Dantonio told the crowd: "We're looking forward to going to Dallas. We've got two more. Make sure you dream big."

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