MINNEAPOLIS _ Cassius Winston swished a 3-pointer. And then another. And another.
Jaren Jackson Jr. drained a 3-pointer. And then another.
No. 1 Michigan State kept making one after another from deep, hitting 10 3-pointers in the first half and coasting to an 87-57 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday night at Williams Arena.
Jackson and Winston combined for eight of those as the Spartans missed twice in the first 20 minutes. MSU made 14 3-pointers for the game, shot 53.3 percent overall and outrebounded the Gophers 49-23 en route to winning its ninth straight game.
Jackson scored a career-high 27 points as the Spartans (25-3, 13-2 Big Ten) now own the school's best 28-game start in program history, surpassing the 2000-01 team that went to the Final Four in Minneapolis. He added six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Nick Ward had 13 points, nine rebounds, and six turnovers, and Winston finished with 12 points as MSU survived a lackluster game by Miles Bridges (five points on 1-for-7 shooting, five rebounds, four assists).
Isaiah Washington scored 18 points, Jordan Murphy scored 16 and Nate Mason scored 14 for Minnesota (14-14, 3-12), which has lost eight straight. The Gophers were without Amir Coffey (shoulder), Dupree McBrayer (leg), Eric Curry (knee) and Reggie Lynch (suspension).
Other than the barrage of 3-pointers, MSU had a dominating first half.
The Spartans had 12 assists on their 14 made baskets, with five different players each getting two helpers.
MSU doubled up the Gophers on the boards, 24-12, and turned seven offensive boards into an 8-0 edge in second-chance points.
Defensively, the Spartans held Minnesota to a 6-for-25 start before the Gophers made 3 of 5 in the final 2:27 before halftime.
Jackson had 16 points and five rebounds at halftime, while Winston had 12 points. Neither missed a 3-point attempt.
Meanwhile, Bridges struggled _ his only make in a 1-for-5 half was a 3-pointer. Ward also struggled with foul trouble and committed six of MSU's nine turnovers in nine minutes of first-half action.
Minnesota cut the Spartans' lead to 13 with a 3-pointer from Murphy and a layup by Washington to open the second half.
That was as close as the Gophers would get, however. With MSU leading by 15 a little more than 5 minutes into the second half, Ward and Jackson took over the game in the paint. The two combined for a 22-5 knockout run that spanned about 5{ minutes.
Ward scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the final 20 minutes.
