Getting beat by their arch rivals for the second straight time didn't sit well with the Michigan State Spartans, especially after Michigan guard Darius Morris swooped in for a layup with four seconds left to provide the final 70-63 margin.
↵With Michigan leading 68-63 and just a few seconds left, Morris drove down the floor and evaded capture for a foul by Michigan State players and made a driving layup to give Michigan a seven-point advantage with four seconds left. MSU senior guard Kalin Lucas didn't take kindly to the act; Lucas threw the ball at Morris and jawed with the sophomore star, forcing the two to be separated. However, both brushed off the incident after the game:
↵↵↵"I didn't throw it at him, at him. I threw it toward him a little bit," Lucas said after the game. "That's basketball. Things are going to happen like that. Guys are going to get into it. But we still shook hands after. Everything's fine."
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Tom Izzo didn't take kindly to it either, implying Morris may have deserved it.
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↵↵"I'm not for that, so I'll straighten that out. But at the same time, going for a layup with three seconds left …" Izzo said. "He talked a lot of stuff the whole game, including at our place. Maybe he deserved it."
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Maybe Michigan State should have done a better job of defending if they didn't want Morris to go for the jugular. Though time was winding down, MSU was only down five and couldn't catch Morris to foul him and allowed the layup rather easily after he evaded capture at mid court. Running the clock out would have been the classy thing to do, but Morris might not have had time to think of that in the heat of the moment with several Spartans chasing him as he was driving toward the hoop. In either case, this rivalry is officially back after a long hiatus.