Following a disappointing three-game road swing, the MSU men's basketball team took out its frustrations on a team with no conference wins.
The Spartans (10-7 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) soundly drubbed Penn State on Wednesday 70-36 at Breslin Center, halting their three-game conference losing streak and holding the Nittany Lions (5-10, 0-4) to their lowest point total since joining the Big Ten.
The Spartans' win stemmed from a 19-3 MSU run to end the first half after an offensive stalemate early on. The nine-minute run was capped by a buzzer-beating three-pointer by senior forward Adam Ballinger, sending the Spartans on to an easy win.
Wednesday's game featured an uncharacteristic starting lineup for MSU, as sophomore guard Tim Bograkos and freshman forward Erazem Lorbek were inserted in favor of sophomore guard Chris Hill and freshman forward Paul Davis. Head coach Tom Izzo called the switch a move to bolster the Spartan defense.
"I thought maybe it would take some pressure (off Hill) to let him watch the first three or four minutes from the bench," Izzo said. "It wasn't a punishment, it was something I felt would help him and help our team. Plus, I needed Bograkos to bring some energy. Defensively, I don't think we've been playing as hard as we can play."
Bograkos said Izzo's move motivated the bench to contribute. MSU's reserves outscored Penn State's 44-10.
"I think it brought a bigger spark off our bench," Bograkos said. "We have to bring some more offense off our bench."
Hill, who said he was neither surprised nor offended by Izzo's move, led all scorers with 20 points on 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Penn State head coach Jerry Dunn, on the other hand, had something to be upset about. Dunn questioned his team's toughness following the 34-point loss.
"I think the defense was tough and MSU did a good job on the defensive end," Dunn said. "They played like men, we played like boys. We played about as soft as we could possibly play.
"We got drilled."
Penn State was led by guard Sharif Chambliss, who scored 10 points. Backcourt mate Brandon Watkins, the team's leading scorer, only had six.
Aside from Hill's support off the bench, senior forward Aloysius Anagonye scored 11. Freshman guard Maurice Ager added 10.
In addition to hard defense and contributions from the bench, the turnover bug that had seemed to plague the Spartans the past six games was a welcomed absence. MSU committed only nine turnovers to Penn State's 17.
"The turnovers, I told you, would make a big difference in the game," Izzo said. "We did a great job there."
Davis said the MSU team that has performed poorly in the last three games of conference play, could very well be on its way out. Davis chipped in seven points off the Spartan bench.
"I think this team is ready to get on a roll right now," Davis said. "I think this is the team you're going to start seeing."
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