EAST LANSING, Mich. — Denzel Valentine didn’t have the chance to make a game-winning shot at the buzzer like he did exactly a year ago on Valentine’s Day.
That’s because this time his team led by double digits for most of the second half.
Instead of being a hero in the final seconds, Valentine dominated from beginning to end, scoring 30 points and dishing out 13 assists in No. 8 Michigan State’s 88-69 defeat of IU in East Lansing, Michigan.
“We let him play to his strengths,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “You have to put more pressure on him and make him more uncomfortable, and we didn’t do that as much as we need to obviously.”
With just under 14 minutes left in the second half, the senior guard stepped back and knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the game.
It capped a 16-2 run that gave the Spartans a 12-point lead, their largest of the game to that point.
Crean wanted a timeout. But before going to his team’s bench, Valentine, with a smile on his face, jogged to the other side of the court and high-fived two former Michigan State football players in attendance.
The rest of the game was that kind of celebration for him and the Spartans.
Valentine went 11-of-19 from the floor, including 5-of-8 beyond the arc. When he wasn’t scoring, he was creating opportunities for his teammates.
He was often leading the Spartans’ fast break. Although both teams finished with 11 turnovers, Michigan State converted those into 20 points, while IU had just nine points in transition.
Crean said they let Valentine do pretty much whatever he wanted.
“He can do a lot of different things because of his vision and because of his ability to play through traps,” Crean said. “But you have to wear him down, and we just didn’t do a good enough job of that.”
Michigan State didn’t need a ton of help outside of Valentine and senior forward Matt Costello. The two combined for 52 points and 16 rebounds.
With all the hype about how good of an offensive player Valentine is, Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said he doesn’t think Valentine gets enough credit for his defense. Izzo said everything they’ve asked the senior guard to get better at, he’s improved upon — becoming a better shooter, becoming more disciplined and becoming a better defender.
All of those he’s done, and all were problems for IU on Sunday.
“He can rebound and guard on one end, and he can pass and score on the other end,” Izzo said. “I don’t know anybody I’ve had that can do that as thoroughly as he does it.”
Valentine kept his team in the game during the first half when IU led by as many as 10 points. Then, when the Spartans were on the other end of it, he took control.
Despite trying three or four different defenders on Valentine, Crean didn’t have an answer.
“If you can find a better player all around, on both ends of the court, that guy deserves it,” Izzo said.
