Tom Izzo became the winningest coach in the history of MSU men’s basketball Saturday as the Spartans routed Massachusetts 106-68 in the third place game of the Legends Classic at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
Izzo surpassed his predecessor, Jud Heathcote, who notched 340 wins during his tenure in East Lansing.
The team’s biggest problem in its loss to Florida, turnovers, was corrected in time to face the Minutemen, as MSU turned the ball over 11 times, 12 fewer than Friday. The Spartans added 27 assists on 41 baskets against UMass.
The Spartans’ offense was on fire, as MSU shot 58.6 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
After failing to record a point Friday, senior forward Raymar Morgan responded in a big way, scoring 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Junior guard Chris Allen added a team-high 18 points in 22 minutes off the bench for the No. 2 Spartans (5-1 overall).
Sophomore forward Draymond Green had a well-rounded game, scoring six points with seven rebounds and six assists in 19 minutes.
The Spartans found themselves down 8-2 early, but that would be UMass’s largest lead of the game. Less than two minutes later, the Spartans would go ahead 10-8 and never look back.
MSU went into halftime up 55-38 and really poured it on in the second half, eventually amassing a 46-point lead on a 3-pointer by senior guard Isaiah Dahlman with 2:14 to play.
While MSU was shooting the lights out, the Spartans’ defense held UMass to 38.2 percent shooting.
Junior guard Kalin Lucas (16 points), sophomore guard Korie Lucious (13 points) and sophomore forward Delvon Roe (11 points) also scored in double figures for MSU.
Guard Anthony Gurley led the Minutemen with 24 points.
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