Oakland vs. Michigan State: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

The Michigan State Spartans are arguably the best college basketball team in the country at full strength, but they needed overtime without superstar Denzel Valentine on Tuesday to escape a daunting challenge from the Oakland Grizzlies of the Horizon League.   

The Spartans overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half and outlasted the Grizzlies, 99-93, in something of a free-throw contest in the overtime period. It didn't help Oakland's cause that its best performer, Kahlil Felder, fouled out with less than a minute left in overtime.   

Felder was Oakland's leader throughout the contest, finishing with 37 points and nine assists. He repeatedly came through with clutch plays and drilled two free throws to force overtime, but it wasn't enough to overcome 32 points from Bryn Forbes and 27 from Eron Harris.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports commented on the back-and-forth affair:

While the Spartans emerged with the victory, they did allow 48 free-throw attempts and failed to close out Oakland multiple times down the stretch. Dana O'Neil of ESPN weighed in on the disjointed performance from the nation's No. 1 team:

Michigan State may be the top team in the country, but Oakland did not back down in The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Grizzlies actually took a 50-37 lead at the half and dictated pace throughout the first 20 minutes.

O'Neil pointed out fans (and the selection committee) should not overreact to the surprising first half, especially since Valentine was out with a knee injury:

Despite the early momentum, Oakland gradually lost its lead, thanks in large part to the second-half efforts of Forbes. ESPN College BBall shared a highlight:

"

The Spartans are fighting back! Bryn Forbes hits the 3 in transition. https://t.co/L3v1aVDXQI

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) December 23, 2015"

Myron Medcalf of ESPN remarked on the development:

Forbes brought his team all the way back in a complete turnaround, as Sports Illustrated highlighted:

Forbes didn't do everything right, though, and a critical technical foul at least temporarily halted momentum with less than 10 minutes remaining. Mike Wilson of 247Sports noted head coach Tom Izzo was not pleased with the decision:

The Grizzlies continued to rebuff every one of Michigan State's attempts to pull away and were within three points at 77-74 with less than four minutes remaining. Forbes had an opportunity to put the game away at 79-74 with just more than two minutes left but finally missed an open three-pointer (he finished 7-of-9 from deep).

The three would have proved critical, but Oakland went ice-cold on the offensive end and didn't score from the under-four-minute timeout until there were less than 80 seconds remaining. Felder then connected on two free throws to trim the deficit to 79-76.

Harris responded with a free throw of his own, but Michigan State committed an inexplicable foul on the rebound after a miss on the second free throw. It gave the Grizzlies an opportunity to cut the lead to 80-78 with the clock stopped, and they did just that. 

Matt Charboneau of the Detroit News did not agree with either whistle:

Harris drew a blocking foul with 25 seconds left and had a chance to put his team up two possessions with two free throws. He connected on both, and Wilson reacted to the sequence:

Just when it looked like the game was over, Felder drilled a difficult three from the corner to cut Michigan State's narrow advantage to 82-81 with less than 20 seconds left. Matt Costello pushed the lead to two with a free throw, and Felder sprinted up the court and drew a foul with five seconds left.

Suddenly, Oakland had a chance to tie the game against the nation's top-ranked team, although Wilson did not think Felder should be on the line:

Felder calmly drilled both from the charity stripe with ice water in his veins, and the Spartans did not score on the other end. An overtime showdown was not what Michigan State had in mind when it lined up across Oakland at the start of Tuesday's game, but that is exactly what happened when it failed to score on its final possession of regulation.

The Grizzlies took advantage of free throws early in overtime and seized an 87-85 lead. Costello then converted an and-1 to give the Spartans the advantage, but Kenny Goins fouled out—much to the chagrin of Charboneau:

The teams traded free throws throughout most of the extra period, but Deyonta Davis steamrolled his way to the basket to give the Spartans a 93-91 lead with just over a minute remaining. Felder tried to answer, but he committed an offensive foul with 49 seconds left and fouled out of the game, ending Oakland's realistic chances of the shocking upset.

Right on cue, Forbes drilled a three-pointer to open a 96-91 lead. Eisenberg reacted to the game-defining possessions:

Michigan State put the contest away with timely free throws and clinched the victory.

What's Next?

Izzo's team will have to survive without Valentine for the time being (he was ruled out for two to three weeks), and it starts Big Ten play on Dec. 29 with two straight road games at Iowa and at Minnesota. After that, Michigan State plays a stretch against Illinois, Penn State and Iowa.

Fortunately for the Spartans, none of those teams are in the upper echelon of the Big Ten this season, so they should still manage to pick up some league wins before Valentine returns. However, working him back into the lineup against some of the better competition later in the year may prove difficult.

As for Oakland, it faces Chicago State on Dec. 28 before a marquee showdown with No. 5 Virginia two days later. The Grizzlies will likely rely upon Tuesday's gallant performance against the nation's top-ranked team as inspiration before they face off with another one of the country's best in the Cavaliers.

Postgame Reaction

Few envisioned a tight contest before Tuesday’s game started, and Izzo sounded more relieved than anything else after the win during a radio interview, via Chris Solari of the Lansing State Journal: “It was a struggle, I'll be the first to admit it.”

Izzo did offer plenty of praise for Felder, who had Spartans fans on the edge of their seats throughout the game, per Wilson: “Felder looked like one of the best players I’ve ever seen play here and I’ve watched a lot of pro games here.”

Izzo also offered some sympathy for Oakland head coach Greg Kampe, per Charboneau: “I almost feel for Greg. He's got a hell of a team.”

As for Kampe, he did not want to be perceived as a scrappy underdog, per Charboneau: “A lot of people are saying hey great…it's not great. I don’t perceive us as a nice little story.”

Kampe also discussed the critical offensive foul called on Felder in the overtime period, per Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press: “Guy that made the call is a Final Four official, not gonna question that. Kay had his hand out.”

Kampe did credit the Spartans, per Charboneau: “Forbes and Harris made shots and they had to to win, so got to give them credit.”

Kampe also compared the two teams, per Wilson: “I think my team is as good as theirs.”

If that is truly the case, the Grizzlies should make plenty of noise in the Horizon League. Perhaps they could earn a rematch in March if they take care of business in conference play.