 was sharp early, building a 28-point lead early in the second half. Once Edwards got rolling, the Spartans had no answer.Projected as a lottery pick, the 6-foot-5 Edwards brought the Bulldogs (3-2) back almost entirely by himself, scoring 33 of his 37 points in the second half.Edwards hit 7 of 13 3s - many of those contested - in the second half and threw a two-handed, overhead bounce pass to Rayshaun Hammonds for a layup to pull Georgia within 75-73.Michigan State gathered itself after the Edwards’ onslaught, stretching the lead back to nine before hitting four straight free throws in the final 34 seconds.Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called Winston a “shell of himself” after a quiet game in the Maui opener against Virginia Tech.Brother Zachary Winston was hit by a train and killed Nov. 9, a death that has taken an emotional and physical toll on the senior guard. A preseason All-American and favorite for national player of the year, Winston was held to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting in Michigan State’s 71-66 loss to the Hokies.Winston was back to being himself in the first half against Georgia.Confidently stroking in jumpers and working his way into the lane, Winston had 13 points in the first half while orchestrating the Spartans’ efficient offense. Michigan State made 20 of 36 shots and led 57-33 at halftime.Georgia carried its poor perimeter shooting from the Maui opener into the second game. The Bulldogs went 3 for 13 from 3 in the first half after going 4 for 16 from the arc in their opening loss to Dayton.Everything changed in the second half.Edwards got hot, Michigan State fell flat and what looked like a blowout suddenly became a game.Edwards, who had six points in the Maui opener, scored 13 points during a 20-3 second-half run and kept pouring in baskets, mostly on pull-up and step-back 3-pointers.BIG PICTUREEdwards showed why he’s a projected NBA lottery pick with an offensive show in the second half. Georgia just didn’t have enough to complete the comeback.Michigan State blew a big lead and couldn’t stop Edwards but showed some grit in pulling out the victory.UP NEXTGeorgia will face the Chaminade-UCLA loser in Wednesday’s seventh-place game.Michigan State plays the Chaminade-UCLA winner in the fifth-place game.---For more college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Nov 26, 2019A matchup between a Georgia team loaded with freshman phenoms and third-ranked Michigan State on the second day of the Maui Invitational might not come as a surprise. That the two teams will meet on the consolation side of the bracket, however, is unexpected.Michigan State (3-2) could not rally from a late 10-point deficit on Monday en route to a 71-66 opening-round loss to Virginia Tech.Georgia (4-1), meanwhile, trailed by double digits virtually the entire way in an 80-61 loss to Dayton."We played behind, which is the last thing you want to do, and we weren't aggressive with our hands," Bulldogs coach Tom Crean said.The surprising outcomes on Monday set up a reunion on Tuesday for Crean and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. Crean was a Spartans assistant from 1995-99, the first four seasons of Izzo's illustrious tenure."I still have a great appreciation for all he did for me," Izzo said to the Lansing State Journal of Crean. "He really helped me getting this program going. I thought we were an incredible group together, and that was a big part of our success." Michigan State reached the first of eight Final Fours under Izzo during Crean's last season as an assistant there. He moved on to Marquette as the head coach the following season before returning to the Big Ten Conference at Indiana in 2008-09. Crean coached the Hoosiers through 2016-17.Tuesday's matchup is the first between the two former colleagues since Crean landed at Georgia last season. Crean's first campaign with the Bulldogs ended at 11-21, but signing a recruiting class that 247Sports ranked No. 10 in the nation buoyed expectations heading into 2019-20.Freshman Anthony Edwards, a five-star prospect, was named 1st Team All-SEC in the preseason. He came into the Maui Invitational scoring 19.3 points per game, but managed just six on 2-of-10 shooting in the Bulldogs' Monday loss.Woeful shooting -- the Bulldogs went 4 of 16 from behind the 3-point arc -- and 23 turnovers doomed Georgia to its lowest scoring performance of the season.Michigan State opened the season ranked No. 1, but lost to Georgia's Southeastern Conference counterpart, Kentucky, on opening night.The Spartans won three straight games heading into Monday but could not overcome 16 turnovers against the Hokies. Forward Xavier Tillman, coming off a career-high, 21-point performance in a Nov. 18 blowout of Charleston Southern, scored nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds against Virginia Tech. But he shot only 4 of 10 and committed five turnovers.A better offensive performance from Tillman might be in order against a Georgia defense that struggled on the interior Monday. Dayton big man Obi Toppin shot 9 of 11 en route to 25 points against the Bulldogs."We were not good at defending the post," Crean said. "We did not do anything we needed to do to Obi Toppin to start the game." Toppin scored 12 of Dayton's first 14 points to set the tone for the game as the Flyers jumped to a 14-2 lead. On the season, Georgia opponents are shooting 50.6 percent from inside the 3-point arc.--Field Level Media
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