Arizona Wildcats hang on to beat Michigan State 74-68 in Thanksgiving Day showdown
THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. – Arizona built a 15-point first-half lead over Michigan State that melted away but powered inside just enough to beat the Spartans 74-68 in a neutral site Thanksgiving Day game at Acrisure Arena.
During a largely made-for-TV event that expected to attract 2.9 million television viewers on Fox, Keshad Johnson picked up Acrisure Classic MVP honors with 13 points and 10 rebounds while guard Caleb Love had 16 points and three other Wildcats scored in double figures.
The arena, opened in December 2022, also announced a crowd for what was its first college basketball event.of 9,112 that appeared to fill about three-quarters of the 10,815 seats.
The Spartans completely wiped away what was a 15-point UA lead with 4:37 left in the game, and UA held just a 69-66 lead heading into the final two minutes. But Jaden Bradley hit a 17-footer that gave UA a 71-66 lead with 1:23 left and UA hung on from there.
After A.J. Hoggard hit two free throws with 26 seconds left to pull MSU to within 71-68, Love hit a free throw to give UA a four-point advantage, then KJ Lewis made a breakaway dagger dunk with eight seconds left for the final score.
The Wildcats shot just 39.3% in the second half after hitting 51.6% before halftime.
After Arizona took a 10-point halftime lead, Michigan State quickly turned it into a one-possession game, going on a 9-2 run to start the second half, mostly by going inside on the Wildcats.
MSU also cut Arizona’s lead to three points, 45-42, after Jaden Aikens hit a 3-pointer with 15:25 to go, but Love drove in for a dunk on the Wildcats’ next possession.
The game stayed close the rest of the way, with Michigan State holding the Wildcats to just 41.2% shooting over the first 12 minutes of the second half. Arizona build back leads of up to eight points but A.J. Hoggard drove inside for a layup to cut it to 62-59 with 5:20 remaining and prompt a UA timeout.
The Spartans took a brief lead, going ahead 64-63 when Hoggard made a layup, picked up a foul and hit the ensuing and-one. The foul was also Pelle Larsson’s fifth, fouling him out of the game.
While Hoggard later made it 66-63 on a layup that followed a UA turnover, Love and Johnson scored inside to put the Wildcats back ahead. Johnson then picked up a foul with 2:09 left and, after a media timeout, hit two free throws to put UA ahead 69-66 heading into the final two minutes.
In the first half, Boswell continued his hot-shooting ways by scoring 12 first-half points on 5-for-11 shooting to help Arizona take a 40-30 halftime lead.
Boswell, who made 2 of 5 3-pointers, entered Thursday’s game shooting 64.9% (24-37) from the field, 68.2% (15-22) from the 3-point line.
Arizona enjoyed a double-digit lead for much of the first half by holding Michigan State to just 38.7% shooting while the Wildcats shot 51.6%. While the Spartans made a late push at the end of the half to cut UA's lead to just seven points, Love hit a 3-pointer with one second left before the halftime buzzer.
The Wildcats pulled away quickly early in the first half, taking a 10-4 lead after Johnson and Larsson both scored after MSU turnovers, Johnson taking a steal from Hoggard and racing in for a dunk.
UA later received 3-pointers from Johnson and Boswell on successive possessions to take a 21-7 lead with 10:15 left, prompting an MSU timeout. Boswell later after fed Larsson for a layup and, after he was fouled, Larsson turned it into a three-point play to give UA a 24-10 lead with 8:29 left.
Michigan State cut UA’s lead to 34-23 when Walker hit a 3-pointer but Boswell responded with a 3 of his own to put the Wildcats back up by 14.
As he did in UA’s 78-73 win at Duke on Nov. 10, UA coach Tommy Lloyd used only the top eight players in his rotation, while reserve wing Filip Borovicanin and forward Paulius Murausakas did not get in the game.
Arizona hasn’t lost a game in November under coach Tommy Lloyd since he took over the Wildcats before the 2021-22 season, a total of 18 games.
Photos: No. 3 Arizona basketball's takes Thanksgiving showdown over No. 21 Michigan State
