City of Basketball Love

Vincent Lungaro (@VinceLungaro)
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Less than 24 hours after its overtime win over Nebraska in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, Penn State looked like a team playing with heavy legs in its 78-51 defeat to Michigan State on Thursday. The Spartans raced by the Nittany Lions in the second round matchup at the Verizon Center, advancing to the quarterfinals where they will take on Minnesota.

At First…
The first few minutes weren’t all that bad for Penn State as a layup from Lamar Stevens and a Tony Carr 3-pointer put the Nittany Lions ahead 5-3. From that point forward it was all Spartans. Michigan State went on a 13-1 run to grab the momentum heading into the under-12 timeout.

Nick Ward and Miles Bridges dominated the paint for the Spartans for much of the first half. Ward collected nine points and six rebounds, while also limiting the effectiveness of Nittany Lions big man Mike Watkins, who sat on the bench for the final seven minutes of the first half with two fouls.

Turning Point…
Penn State had cut a once 18-point hole to nine with 3:13 to go in the first half, prompting Spartans coach Tom Izzo to call a timeout. Following that timeout, Michigan State reawoke to the tune of a 9-0 run heading into the break.

Bridges tipped one in off an offensive rebound to start the run, followed by another tip in from Kenny Goins. A dunk from Bridges soon after a wide open three in transition from Kyle Ahrens pushed the Spartans ahead by 18 once more.

That nine-point deficit was the last time the Nittany Lions were within single digits, as the Spartans propelled that late run into a dominant display in the second half.

Standout Stars…
Ward paced the Spartans with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. Bridges showcased his highly talked about athleticism with a series of high impact dunks throughout the afternoon. He also filled the stat sheet with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

In what was an otherwise rough day for Penn State, Stevens put on a solid performance, leading the Nittany Lions with 16 points. The only other Penn State player in double figures was Carr, but he shot just 3-of-15 from the field and 1-of-4 from three.

Noteworthy Numbers…
16: The Spartans continuously looked to push the ball each time a Nittany Lions player missed a shot and were rewarded with 16 fast break points. Already a team that most times chooses to slow things down offensively, Penn State had almost no fast break offense to speak of with zero points in transition.

6: A day after he lit up Nebraska with 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots, it was a quiet display for Watkins. The Philadelphia native was held to six points and five rebounds, battling foul trouble for most of the game.

Up Next…
Michigan State (19-13, 10-8 Big Ten) vs. Minnesota (23-8, 11-7 Big Ten) -- Fri. March 10, 2:30 PM
Penn State: N/A