Michigan State players hold up the Wooden Legacy trophy after defeating Providence in an NCAA college basketball game at the Wooden Legacy tournament, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. Balentine also knows the value of getting to the free-throw line, evident by his 216 attempts last season, fifth most in the nation.ABOUT PROVIDENCE (4-0): Ben Bentil has shown the most improvement among returning Friars this season, although the 6-9 sophomore forward just needs to string together a few good performances. Ryan Anderson is averaging 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, Allonzo Trier is averaging 11.6 points, and Kaleb Tarczewski is averaging 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds.
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But when Dunn went to the bench with his fourth foul with 8:07 remaining and his club leading 54-51, the momentum shifted. Santa Clara’s 6-foot-3 Jared Brownridge scored 44 points on Thursday and got the game to overtime for the Broncos.
“I think it made a big difference”, Keating said. It was one of the Wildcats’ season-high 21 turnovers.
“I’ve never felt worse after a win last night”, Miller said.
Dunn hit a turnaround jumper for a 67-65 lead, and his fastbreak jumper off Parker Jackson-Cartwright’s turnover sealed the win.
History: The Michigan State Spartans and the Providence Friars have not met since the 1999-00 season, when Michigan State defeated Providence 82-58 in the first round of the Puerto Rico Shootout. But the undefeated Friars (6-0) looked like the better team all night against the Wildcats.
MSU had been out-rebounding opponents at will through its first six games, but the Friars gave them a challenge on the glass.
“We’re not where we were a year ago”, Miller said. He recorded a career-high 24 points in the 74-64 win over Evansville and a team-high 21 points in the 69-65 win over No. 11/10 Arizona. They stepped up and played big in a championship game.
“Santa Clara did a great job of playing us physical, playing us strong”, Anderson said. The ball went through the hoop and hit a player’s head underneath, popping the ball straight back up through the hoop. “When something is that obvious, that’s got to be a reviewable thing”.
Just by observing other teams that are ranked in the AP Top-25, Arizona is nowhere close to the brand name that Wildcat fans are used to seeing. You can’t blame the officials, they went on their gut but that should be a reviewable deal.
Michigan State basketball has been led by Denzel Valentine, who is almost averaging a triple double a game, and would be the unanimous National Player of the Year if the season ended today. “We haven’t experienced that in a long, long time”.
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No. 11 Arizona plays Boise State in the third-place game at Honda Center.
