One of the highlights after advancing in the Big Ten Tournament is placing your team’s sticker on the bracket, signifying your team moving on to the next round.
After Michigan State beat Minnesota 77-67 in the second round of the tournament Thursday morning at Target Center in Minneapolis, the Spartans voted unanimously that Tre Holloman should be the one to place the sticker next to top-seeded Purdue, which they’ll face at 11 a.m. on Friday back at Target Center.
“That wasn’t because it was his homecoming,” Tom Izzo said. “It’s because of the lift he gave us and some of the plays he made.”
Some of those plays included Holloman drilling a 3-pointer in the first half, then getting a steal on defense that led to a transition dunk for Malik Hall.
That five-point swing gave the Spartans an early 14-10 lead with 12 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the opening half.
Then in the second half, Holloman hit a 3 that gave the Spartans a 55-51 edge and came during a 15-2 run in which they completely took control of the contest.
“I thought it was one of his best games, if I looked at all around the things that he did,” Izzo said. “So I’m really proud of Tre and happy for him. You come home, you want to play well in front of some of your family and friends.”
In all, the former Cretin-Derham Hall standout had nine points on 3-for-3 shooting, including a 2-for-2 mark from 3, four assists, two steals, a block and a rebound.
Best of all, he helped the Spartans to a win. And moved their sticker over another day.
