EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Three players scored in double figures as Michigan State handled Nebraska, 74-56, to move to 2-1 in the Big Ten. MSU took 22-point lead at the half, 39-17, shooting 50 percent from the floor and kept the gas going in the second half for the 18-point win.

“That was some of the best basketball that we’ve played in a while. Give my staff a lot of credit,” said head coach Tom Izzo. “We had 24 assist on 31 baskets. We got 65 shots up. We only had nine turnovers. We hurt them bad on the boards, which we haven’t done in a while.”

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Tyson Walker finished with 21 points making three three-pointers. Joey Hauser came away with a double-double in 10 points and 10 rebounds while Mady Sissoko had 10 rebounds and three blocks, too. Jaxon Kohler was 5-of-5 from the field for 10 points.

MSU shot 47 percent overall and made eight three-pointers while holding Nebraska to just 27 percent shooting in the first half and 41 percent overall. Nebraska only made one three-pointer in the first half and only two the entire game finishing at 12 percent. MSU also grabbed 46 rebounds to the Huskers’ 29.

“I was very concerned about the game, and they (Nebraska) have been playing really well. I think Fred (Hoiberg) has done a hell of a job with this team. Tonight, they didn’t make some shots, and I didn’t think they guarded quite as well,” said Izzo.

Nebraska took a 4-3 lead just two minutes into the game and was within one, 7-6, at the 15:45 mark. The game was tied at 11 with 12:47 left in the half and MSU had a three-point lead, 16-13, at 11:37. MSU responded on a 13-0 run that started with a Pierre Brooks fast break three-pointer making it 19-13. Walker finished the run on a three-pointer for the 13-point lead, 26-13 (9:22).  Nebraska cut the lead to six, 26-17, with 6:34 left as they didn’t make a shot in the final six minutes. MSU finished on another 13-0 run for the 22-point halftime lead, 39-17.

Izzo says, “We wanted to get the ball moving, and we wanted to get bodies moving, so we did a better job of that,” as he talks about how his team found success working together.

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The second half wasn’t as strong for MSU as Nebraska outscored them, 39-35. The Spartans had built a large enough lead that Nebraska couldn’t overcome it but the half wasn’t what Izzo thought it should have been. He says, “There was a stretch in the second half that made me realize that we still have some immaturity left in us. That’s what I told them at timeout, and that’s what I told A.J. on the floor. He’s got to be the guy.”

Nebraska cut MSU’s lead to 12 points, 56-44, with 9:22 left in the game but by the 4:16 mark the lead was back to 22 points, 68-46, on a 12-2 run as Walker had another fast break three-pointer. Hoggard hit two free throws with 3:04 left for a 23-point lead, 70-47. Nebraska ended the game on a 9-4 run as the final became 74-56.

MSU is now 10-4 and will host rival Michigan on Saturday, January 7, at 2:30 p.m.