EAST LANSING, Mich. — From the first possession it was clear — Michigan State was going to put its foot on the gas.
That’s not exactly a stretch for most Michigan State teams. Throughout Tom Izzo’s tenure, the plan has been to push the pace, and this season has been no different.
But with a new point guard and a handful of fresh faces, there have been some ups and downs. Through the first 10 games this season, Michigan State has struggled to put together a solid 40 minutes while it has turned the ball over at an alarming rate.
It all began to change on Saturday as the 19th-ranked Spartans scored 31 fast-break points, committed only 11 turnovers and cruised to an 80-64 victory over Penn State in the Big Ten home opener at Breslin Center.
Michigan State forward Marcus Bingham Jr. passes during the first half.
“I still got a lot to complain about, but I’ve got a lot to feel good about,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “What really has pleased me, as I go to practice and the practice ends, I say to my staff, ‘We got a little better today,’ or ‘We got a little better.’ We have a long way to go because we're not an ultra-talented team. We have depth and we still have some youth that are going to make some mistakes, but we're going to get better, I really believe that.”
What they were Saturday was plenty good enough as Michigan State now heads into a lengthy break, its next game not until Dec. 21 when it takes on Oakland at Little Caesars Arena.
Gabe Brown scored 15 while Marcus Bingham scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for the Spartans. (9-2, 2-0 Big Ten). It was the second career double-double for Bingham and first since he had 19 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Eastern Michigan.
Penn State forward John Harrar (21) is defended by Michigan State center Mady Sissoko (22) during the first half.
Tyson Walker added 10 points and nine assists with only one turnover as the Spartans outscored Penn State, 31-3, on fast-break points.
“I think he's just getting a feel for things,” Izzo said of Walker, the transfer from Northeastern. “The guy that stirs the drink usually gets the team going, and he's doing that now and it's been fun to watch.”
In the past three games, Walker has shown everything the Spartans were looking for when they brought him in during the offseason. He had 11 points, six assists and no turnovers in a win over Toledo and early this week scored 15 and dished out four assists at Minnesota.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo yells during the first half.
And on Saturday, his only turnover was a lob pass he hoped would lead to his 10th assist and his first career double-double.
“That boy is a bucket,” Brown said of Walker. “But Tyson is just playing like himself, playing like he was at Northeastern, just on a bigger stage. He’s doing everything right. He's coming in, watching film, working out. He does all the right things and I’m just happy to see him doing good.”
Seth Lundy scored 18 to lead Penn State (5-5, 0-2) while John Harrar scored 16 and pulled down 11 rebounds. Jalen Pickett chipped in 13 points and Sam Sessoms added 12 for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State was just 13-for-30 in the first half and missed all of its 3-pointers. But it wasn’t the missed shots that bothered coach Micah Shrewsberry. He didn’t like how Michigan State ran at will.
“We can't live and die with our shooting in our offense,” the first-year coach said. “We have to defend, and early in the game, like for them to get 20 fast-break points in the first half, like, you shouldn't do that in a game.
“So, we didn't deserve to make shots. The basketball gods don't reward you for not sprinting back on defense and then let you make 12 3s.”
The fast start took a minute for Michigan State as it committed two turnovers on its first three possessions. Soon, though, the offense was clicking as the Spartans made four of their first five shots as an early 7-0 surge wiped out the rough start. And when Mady Sissoko scored on a jumper near the basket to give Michigan State a 21-18 lead, the Spartans were 8-for-12 from the field.
Meanwhile, Penn State also started out shooting well, sparked by the play of Lundy and Pickett, each of whom was making tough, contested shots to keep the Nittany Lions in the game. And after a jumper from Sessoms cut Michigan State’s lead to 27-25 with just more than six minutes left in the half, it appeared the momentum was there for the Nittany Lions to grab.
But Michigan State responded with four straight points from A.J. Hoggard and a steal and dunk from Jaden Akins that brought the house down. It was more Michigan State from there as the Spartans closed the half on a 15-4 run while scoring the final seven points of the half to take a 42-29 lead to the locker room.
A 9-3 run to open the second half gave Michigan State a 51-32 lead just two minutes into the half, its biggest lead at that point. Penn State bounced back, though, pulling within 53-39 with 15:47 left, but the Spartans grabbed the momentum back quickly as Hoggard and Bingham hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 64-46 with 11:30 left in the game.
A pair of Lundy 3-pointers kept things from getting out of hand, but Michigan State was too much down the stretch for Penn State to mount a serious comeback bid. And plenty of it was thanks to the fast tempo and the fact the Spartans were 9-for-21 from 3-point range and 31-for-59 overall.
“Our point guards are getting it out to the wings where we want them instead of in the middle of the court asking for the ball,” Izzo explained. “We're starting to run our break. We're getting both lanes filled, getting a guy down the middle. We're getting some continuity. We’re getting Joey down the middle, Markie down the middle, and then we had guys wide open on the wings.
“All that being said and done, we shoot 43% from the 3 and 52% (overall). It wasn't that long ago we were in the 20s and we were complaining about how we shot.”
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