We are still three days from March, but No. 8 Michigan State’s Tre Holloman got the madness started early.
The Spartans guard delivered an all-time stunner against No. 16 Maryland on Wednesday with a buzzer-beating, half-court heave to break a 55-55 tie on the road. With less than three seconds left, Michigan State rebounded a miss from Ja’Kobi Gillespie and got it to Holloman, who launched it from behind the logo.
Nearly a second after the buzzer sounded, the ball hit net and the Spartans had the win. Predictably, their bench went nuts, while Gillespie and Maryland fans pulled out the full surrender cobra.
Incredibly, this is the second time in five games against Maryland that Michigan State has hit a preposterous half-court buzzer beater.
“I saw the rim and then the shot clock going down, so I had to throw it up. We practice those, so I just got up and it went in,” Holloman told Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz in the aftermath.
Before the buzzer-beater, Holloman had been shooting 2-for-11 from the field and had just committed the turnover that allowed the Terrapins to tie the game. He finished with nine points off the bench, plus three assists and two rebounds.
Holloman’s heroics saved Michigan State from a collapse, as it held a lead of seven points with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. Gillespie scored six of Maryland’s next seven points, while the Spartans didn’t score again until after the buzzer sounded. Of course, the buzzer doesn’t entirely mean the game is over.
The win is Michigan State’s fourth straight, and they’ll get another test against No. 11 Wisconsin on Sunday.
