MINNEAPOLIS — Highlights, scores, and box score as No. 21 Minnesota knocked off No. 17 Michigan State 81-56 in a Big Ten Conference game at Williams Arena on Monday night.
Michigan State Struggles With Shooting
Michigan State entered the game as a 3-point favorite, but struggled shooting the ball and fell into a huge hole in the first half and never recovered.
Minnesota built a 22-9 lead midway into the first half and went on to take a 20 points, 36-16 at halftime advantage.
Marcus Carr scored 19 points with five assists and Liam Robbins added 18 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks to lead the way for the Golden Gophers (9-1, 2-1) who never trailed in the game.
Brandon Johnson finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Both Gach chipped in with six points, nine rebounds, and three assists for Minnesota, which was picking up back-to-back wins against ranked opponents after defeating then-No. 4 Iowa in overtime three days ago.
Aaron Henry had 11 points and three assists for Michigan State, which was held to just 25.7% shooting from the field overall and 24.0% from 3-pointers.
http://gty.im/1230175188“We don’t have great leadership. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just hard to find one of those alpha dogs. I’ve had four or five of them my whole career,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.
A.J. Hoggard score nine points, Malik Hall ended with nine points and five rebounds and Thomas Kithier finished with five points and seven rebounds for the Spartans (6-3, 0-3) who are off to their first 0-3 start in conference play in 19 years.
It was the third straight win for the Golden Gophers, who recorded their largest margin of victory ever over Michigan State and matching a Jan. 4, 1997 game, which was later annulled by the NCAA.
Michigan State also lost to Northwestern and Wisconsin in the three-game losing streak.
Minnesota shot 47.6% on 30 of 63 shooting and outrebounded the Spartans 52-36 in victory.
No. 21 Minnesota 81 vs. No. 17 Michigan St. 56
MICHIGAN ST. (6-3)
Hauser 1-8 4-6 6, Kithier 2-4 1-1 5, Langford 2-10 0-0 5, Loyer 2-6 2-2 8, Watts 1-9 0-0 2, Henry 3-10 4-4 11, Hall 2-6 2-2 8, Hoggard 4-9 1-1 9, Brown 0-5 0-0 0, Sissoko 0-1 0-2 0, Marble 1-1 0-0 2, Bingham 0-0 0-0 0, Hoiberg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-70 14-18 56.
MINNESOTA (9-1)
Johnson 4-7 0-0 9, Robbins 7-11 3-3 18, Carr 7-13 2-2 19, Gach 2-7 2-4 6, Kalscheur 3-10 1-1 8, Mashburn 1-4 3-3 5, Williams 3-6 0-0 6, Curry 1-1 4-4 6, Ihnen 0-2 0-0 0, Freeman 1-1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Mutaf 1-1 0-0 2, Conroy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-63 15-17 81.
Halftime–Minnesota 36-16. 3-Point Goals–Michigan St. 6-25 (Hall 2-3, Loyer 2-4, Henry 1-1, Langford 1-3, Hoiberg 0-1, Hoggard 0-2, Brown 0-3, Watts 0-3, Hauser 0-5), Minnesota 6-25 (Carr 3-6, Robbins 1-3, Johnson 1-4, Kalscheur 1-6, Ihnen 0-1, Mashburn 0-1, Gach 0-2, Williams 0-2). Rebounds–Michigan St. 34 (Kithier 7), Minnesota 49 (Robbins, Gach 9). Assists–Michigan St. 10 (Henry 3), Minnesota 18 (Carr 5). Total Fouls–Michigan St. 15, Minnesota 13.
