"I don't think our guys hung their head after the loss to Duke", head coach Tom Izzo said. "They knew we did some good things, we knew we did some bad things, and we knew we wore down. It's just great to be home"

Five Spartans reached double figures, led by senior forward Branden Dawson who had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr. who had 15 points of 3-of-4 shooting from downtown.

Senior guard Travis Trice had 13 points and seven assists, and junior guard Denzel Valentine also had seven assists with 12 points and six rebounds.

Junior forward Matt Costello had a career-high 12 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.

The Spartans clicked early. MSU opened the game on a 17-2 run led by strong forward play and presence in the paint. Outside of a Clark 3-pointer and Valentine jump shot, the Spartans lived in the paint through the first ten minutes. 

"I thought our inside guys did a pretty good job," Izzo said. "You look at it statistically, between Costello and (Dawson) and (sophomore forward Gavin Schilling), how they shot about 85 percent. So that's a positive."

MSU started to open up its play after that though. Travis Trice hit a corner three as a result of nice passing, followed by some nice passing of his own to lead Bryn Forbes for a fast break layup. Forbes later hit a wide open three-pointer as a result of a loose ball that cause Loyola to lose their cover.

MSU was active on the defensive end of the floor as well. The Spartans were consistently getting their hands in passing lanes and contesting nearly every Loyola shot. The defensive effort was highlighted by a soaring block by Dawson.

"We had an advantage down low and we were bigger than them, so we wanted to (attack the paint) and I'm glad those guys got going," Valentine said, referring to the strong play of Dawson, Costello and Schilling, who finished with eight points, three rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes. 

The Spartans' offense continued to flow in the second half. Costello, who established the offense at the beginning of the game, dunked the ball off a pick-and-roll with Trice to crack double digits in the scoring column.

"They rolled harder today, we really work on our screen-and-roll and we had them rolling really hard," Izzo said. "And I think that changed the game too."

A few minutes later, Trice rocked a defender back-and-forth before exploding to the rim to convert a floater. After knocking down the extra free throw, the Spartans led Loyola Chicago 47-16 with just over 16 minutes remaining.

Minutes later, Dawson slammed the ball over a Loyola defender to put the Spartans up 63-27.

The Izzone began the taco chant with under eight minutes remaining after a 3-pointer by Travis Trice, and Forbes obliged the student section with another 3-pointer from the left corner, giving the Spartans 72 points and a 37-point lead.

A pull-up jumper by freshman guard Lourawls Nairn Jr., his first made basket of the night on his second attempt, made the score 85-50 with less than two minutes remaining. 

MSU shot 63.2 percent on the night and converted nine of eighteen 3-point attempts.