ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan's Chris Young said he was so
humiliated that he wished he could hide under his bed.
Instead, Young could only sob in his father's arms after No. 5
Michigan State beat Michigan 91-64 Tuesday night for its first
six-game winning streak over their chief rival. Jason Richardson
scored 17 points to lead five Spartans in double figures.
|  | | Andre Hutson and teammate Zach Randolph can't contain themselves during the Spartans' blowout win at Michigan. |
"There were people that quit on this game when we were down
20," Young said.
Michigan State (17-2, 6-2 Big Ten) followed up a good start with
a 24-0 run midway through the first half to turn the game into a
rout.
Andre Hutson added 15 points for the Spartans, Charlie Bell
scored 13, Zach Randolph had 13 and Mike Chappell 12.
"It's hard to know what to say after a game like that, because
I've been on the other end of it," said Michigan State coach Tom
Izzo, who lost his first five games to Michigan.
"I really thought this was going to be a great game. We shot
the ball so well, better than I thought we could. And we got back
to playing the defense that I think this team needs to play, is
capable of playing and hasn't played in the last couple of weeks."
Michigan State made 57.9 percent of its shots overall, all 18 of
its free throws and held Michigan to 33.9 percent shooting.
LaVell Blanchard, the co-Big Ten Player of the Week, scored 27
points for the Wolverines (9-10, 3-5). Bernard Robinson added 10
points.
The game wasn't as much of a blowout as the last meeting -- when
Michigan State pounded Michigan 114-63 in East Lansing -- but it was
close.
It had to be especially disheartening for the Wolverines because
their inexperienced team had been playing its best basketball of
the season while Michigan State was coming off an 11-point loss at
Ohio State.
Bell insisted that the rivalry with Michigan, as lopsided as it
has been recently, is still alive.
But did he expect to ever see the Spartans dominate the
Wolverines as they have recently?
"Never, never," Bell said. "Especially growing up here in the
state of Michigan, following the matchups year in and year out with
the Fab Five and how Michigan dominated over the years. When we got
that first win (in 1998), we never knew we would win as many."
The Spartans gave an indication of the type of game it was going
to be when they jumped out to a 12-3 lead within the first few
minutes.
"We definitely wanted to come out and make a statement," Bell
said.
Michigan State extended its lead from 26-18 to 50-18 in a span
of six minutes.
"Everything we tried worked," Hutson said. "We executed one
of our best halves of the year; both on offense and defense."
The Spartans led 56-27 at halftime after making 66.7 percent of
their shots and holding Michigan to 21.4 percent.
Michigan State opened the second half with a 16-3 run to take a
74-30 lead, its largest of the night.
Izzo showed some mercy by playing many of his reserves over the
last several minutes of the game.
Several thousand Michigan State fans made their way into Crisler
Arena, which inspired the Spartans and had to humiliate the
Wolverines as they heard taunts, cheers and their rivals' fight
song.
Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe disagreed with Young's statement
that the Wolverines quit.
"I think Chris is very upset with the loss, he's an in-state
kid," Ellerbe said. "I'm sure he didn't mean that. He's an
in-state kid that probably feels it a little bit more than the
other guys did."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Michigan State Clubhouse
Michigan Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO

Jason Richardson blows the 360-degree lay-up, but the third time is the charm.
avi: 877 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Spartans push the ball up court and Jason Richardson capitalizes with the monster jam.
avi: 879 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Zach Randolph with a nice touch-pass to Andre Hudson for the two-handed stuff.
avi: 677 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Michigan's Chris Young gets his own rebound and finishes with the flush.
avi: 713 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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