MSU basketball defeats Binghamton at Breslin Center, 76-33 With Their Eyes on Indianapolis
Javon Bess caught the opening tip from Matt Costello and immediately passed it to Lourawls Nairn, who found a streaking Denzel Valentine for a alley-oop dunk.
It was an impressive sequence that gave MSU the opening bucket just four seconds into the game. It was also a preview of the dominance that was to come.
Hours before the Spartan football team takes on Iowa in the Big Ten Champion Game in Indianapolis, the No. 3 MSU men's basketball team easily put away Binghamton at Breslin Center, winning 76-33.
"Guys were just really locked in and focused," Marvin Clark said. "We got a lot of boards and got it going. Unfortunately we missed a lot of open shots, but the good thing is that we executed. Shots, we can't control if they fall or not."
MSU shot 47 percent from the field, but just 27 percent from behind the arc. The win was built on defense, as Binghamton shot 17 percent from the field and 12 percent from 3.
The Spartans also controlled the boards, out-rebounding the Bearcats 52-32.
With the win, the Spartans improve to 9-0 overall. It's the program's best start since the 2000-2001 team opened the season 12-0.
Bryn Forbes led MSU with 14 points, and Valentine had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Deyonta Davis added 11 rebounds.
Valentine had a strong start, scoring eight of MSU's first 11 points en route to an early 11-3 Spartan lead. Valentine nailed a wide-open 3-pointer at the 10:41 mark to push the lead to 21-3. By the third media timeout, the Spartans led Binghamton by a 25-5 margin.
Valentine scored all 13 of his points in the first half. Despite his double-double, Izzo said he wanted more from his senior.
"Denzel gets into a thing where assists are very important to Denzel, and guys are fumbling dunks," Izzo said. "I just see his face go down. We have to talk to him about that ... he didn't seem to have the same flash after guys missed a couple easy shots."
The Spartans led by nearly 30 points at halftime, 41-12.
MSU continued to cruise in the second half. A powerful slam by Clark extended the lead to 34, 51-17, with 15:19 remaining in the game.
A "Beat the Hawkeyes" chant rung through Breslin Center shortly before Matt McQuaid nailed his first triple of the day to push the lead back to 34 near the 11 minute mark.
The lead reached 42 when Nairn found Forbes in the corner for a triple with six minutes left, and a free throw by Ellis extended the lead to a game-high 43 for the Spartans. MSU's lead wouldn't fall below 39 for the remainder of the game.
Izzo said despite having a few gripes about MSU's performance, he isn't going to let it bother him as he prepares for his flight to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
"I'm going to enjoy our game, enjoy their game, and see if Michigan State University and our athletic department can ... be a pinnacle of success in two sports the same year," Izzo said.
