EAST LANSING, Mich. _ Tom Izzo and Michigan State head into their holiday break with some mojo and smiles.
A workmanlike performance on offense early turned into a runaway train in the second half. A stifling start defensively continued to turn more and more stingy. And, finally, some rest lies ahead after the 15th-ranked Spartans' 101-48 blowout of Eastern Michigan on Saturday night.
Five players scored in double figures to lead MSU, paced by Cassius Winston's 21 on 7-of-14 shooting, including four 3-pointers, to go along with his seven assists. The Spartans (9-3) shot 54% as a team and went 15 of 30 from behind the arc.
Foster Loyer came off the bench with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Aaron Henry, who struggled shooting at Northwestern on Wednesday, made 4 of 6 from the field and finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Xavier Tillman added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Marcus Bingham finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Spartans scattered after the game to go to their homes for the holiday. They plan to reconvene Thursday after Christmas to prepare for their final non-conference game of the season at home against Western Michigan on Dec. 29. This will be the longest break for them this season, a chance to exhale after a physically grueling early schedule and to decompress mentally to process the loss of Zachary Winston, Cassius' younger brother who died Nov. 9.
Rocket Watts (lower-left leg injury) warmed up before the game and is no longer wearing a walking boot, but he did not play. Izzo had said there was "a 10% chance" he would use his freshman shooting guard, but instead opted to keep him out for a fourth straight game. The hope is Watts will be back and ready for the Jan. 2 resumption of Big Ten play at home against Illinois.
On Saturday night, MSU held the Eagles (9-2) without a field goal for almost the first 8 minutes and built a 26-point lead late in the opening half. EMU, which had given ninth-year coach Rob Murphy his best season start, went 1 for 19 to open the game and finished shooting just 24% overall (16 of 67).
That big cushion, coupled with some early foul trouble to Bingham and freshman Malik Hall, allowed Izzo to use a number of different lineup combinations. He was able to play Winston and Loyer together for a spell late in the first half, then mixed and matched his personnel groupings liberally in the second half as the lead swelled as EMU continued to miss shot after shot.
Izzo also got a number of reserves significant minutes after going ahead by 54 points with a little over 4 minutes left. MSU led by as many as 57 late.
Ty Groce's nine points led the Eagles, who play at UNLV at 3 p.m. next Saturday. EMU went just 3 for 29 from 3-point range.
