Spartans Trample Nebraska With Second-Half Surge in Big Ten Home Opener
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Things couldn't have gone much better for Michigan State men's basketball on Saturday, as the Spartans obliterated Nebraska, 89-52, in what was their Big Ten home opener.
Michigan State took off out of halftime, dominating the Cornhuskers, 48-21, in the second half. The Spartans shot almost 52% from the field and made nine 3-pointers, just a game after posting a season-high 11 triples.
Spartan senior guard Jaden Akins led Michigan State in scoring with 18 points. Close behind him was freshman guard Jase Richardson, who finished with 16.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler led the rebounding effort, grabbing 12 boards, his second straight game posting double-digits in rebounds. The Spartans out-rebounded the Cornhuskers, 48-19.
Michigan State jumped out to a 7-0 start before allowing Nebraska to go on a 7-0 run of its own.
Momentum would swing back in the Spartans' favor when Akins drained a triple to give the Spartans an 18-13 lead with 11:18 to go in the first half.
Michigan State would go up by 11, capping off a 13-2 run, with just over 7-and-a-half minutes remaining before halftime before a converted and-1 from Cornhuskers senior guard Andrew Morgan trimmed the deficit back to 8.
Nebraska eventually pulled within 5, but an 11-1 from Michigan State would put itself up by 15, its largest lead of the first half. Of the Spartans' 11 points scored on that run, 7 came from Richardson.
The run was ignited by perhaps the play of the game, a lob pass from Spartan redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. to none other than sophomore forward Coen Carr while Fears was on the floor -- literally, on the floor.
Michigan State would eventually lead 41-31 at halftime.
The Spartans completely flipped a switch out of the break, even after already leading by double-digits after 20 minutes.
Michigan State immediately went on a 12-2 run out of halftime, one that included two made 3-pointers from Akins. He made four on the day.
The Spartans outscored Nebraska, 27-5, through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The scoring burst included a 15-0 run that was capped off by back-to-back triples, one from Michigan State junior guard Tre Holloman and sophomore forward Xavier Booker.
The Spartans would ultimately cruise to a 37-point victory.
Michigan State improves to 2-0 in the Big Ten. It will take a three-game break from conference play to close out the calendar year, starting with a matchup against Oakland at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
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