State College, Penn. - A dull crowd and the 10th place Big Ten team as an opponent didn't slow down MSU on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans played solid on both ends of the floor, walking out of the Bryce Jordan Center with a dominating 67-42 victory over Penn State.
The Spartans (17-9 overall, 12-3 Big Ten) are just one victory away from a Big Ten Championship.
"It's hard to grasp it," sophomore center Paul Davis said. "We come into places with confidence and try to play teams pretty well early. Today, we jumped out on them early and that's what we need to do for the rest of the season."
The Nittany Lions, who were celebrating senior night on Saturday, realized early that the Spartans weren't looking past them. MSU jumped to an early 20-5 lead and Penn State (9-16, 3-11) never pulled within single digits for the rest of the game.
"Michigan State is playing really, really well," Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis said. "They are shooting the ball so well, it's frightening."
MSU shot 50.9 percent during the game (28-for-55) and 40.7 percent from 3-point land.
Four Spartans scored in double figures, led by sophomore center Paul Davis' 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting. Davis also had six assists and four rebounds.
Torbert and junior guard Chris Hill scored 15 and 14 points, respectively and sophomore guard Maurice Ager added 11. Ager suffered a deep thigh bruise toward the end of the first half, limiting him to just 15 minutes. The Detroit native said he's sore at the moment, but doesn't see it effecting him for the rest of the season.
Guard Marlon Smith was the lone Nittany Lion to finish in double digits with 16 points. Forward Jan Jagla, Penn State's leading scorer, finished the game with five points on 1-for-7 shooting. Jagla has struggled in both contests against MSU this season, scoring a combined seven points on 2-for-15 shooting.
Jagla wasn't the only Penn State player to struggle, as MSU's defense held the Nittany Lions to 35 percent shooting for the game. Penn State has more turnovers (18) than field goals (14).
When the final buzzer sounded, there was one negative to the Spartans' game - not a single free throw attempt. On the other hand, the Nittany Lions finished the game 11-for-20 from the charity stripe.
MSU attempted a season-high 27 triples and settled for numerous long jump shots, which was the main reason for not getting to the line. Izzo enjoyed the win, but said the lack of any free throws won't win many games, much less games by 25 points.
"It's strange," Izzo said. "It was not the officiating, we didn't do much taking it to the basket. They have some big guys and we didn't get it in there."
After the game, the Spartans said one thing in the locker room: Bring on Wisconsin.
MSU's victory over Penn State concludes the Spartans' Big Ten road season with a 5-3 record, something Izzo said can carry over to the season's final home contest.
"When you consider that first loss at Wisconsin, and the only bad loss at Illinois, this team must be more tough than I give them credit for," Izzo said. "That's going to be something to build on."
The Spartans take on the Badgers (18-6, 9-4) on Tuesday at Breslin Center in front of an ESPN audience.
