EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 6 Michigan State men’s basketball team beat Wisconsin 76-61 on Friday night, less than 12 hours after athletic director Mark Hollis announced his retirement amid the outcry over how the school handled allegations against Larry Nassar.

The victory also came after an ESPN report detailed an investigative story looking at how men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo and football coach Mark Dantonio handled allegations of sexual assault against their players.

Izzo said he would cooperate with any investigation into his program but declined to answer other questions regarding the report. He also denied a report that he is planning on retiring after the season.

“There is nothing I’m going to say right now, after a game in a press conference, except that I support the survivors, to the Nth degree,” he said. “I hope that I’m a big part of the healing process, for them and our campus community. That’s what I hope I can do here, since I’ve been here longer than anybody.”

Miles Bridges scored 24 points for the Spartans (19-3, 7-2 Big Ten), who have won three in a row after losing two of the previous three games.

Wisconsin (10-12, 3-6) has lost five of six.

The court was surrounded by a sea of teal T-shirts worn by students, hoping to raise awareness about sexual violence.

Hollis, a close friend of Izzo, is retiring as the latest leader to step away because of a sexual abuse scandal involving Nassar, a former physician at the school. Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon announced her resignation Wednesday night, hours after Nassar was sentenced to decades in prison for molesting girls and young women.

NEWS SERVICES