Michigan State Spartans overcome first half struggles, tame Western Michigan Broncos en route to 90-46 win

The Michigan State Spartans remained undefeated at the Breslin Center in November tonight, besting in-state foe, the Western Michigan Broncos 90-46. Indeed, the last time MSU fell at home in November was in 1986 to Navy, falling 91-90 on Nov. 29, 1986 at Jenison Fieldhouse. The Spartans also extended the active win streak to eight games in a row over Western Michigan.

Michigan State struggled early on in this one. Western Michigan managed to take the lead twice early in the game, leading for a total of 3:23 of game action. The Broncos managed 10 points off of turnovers in the first half and scored nine points on the fast break.

However, MSU settled down late in the half and pushed out to a comfortable lead of 46-25 by halftime. The Spartans finished with just four points off of opponent turnovers, but managed 11 points off the fastbreak, nine points on second chance opportunities, and 24 points in the paint.

The first half also featured some great play by freshman Max Christie, who led the team in minutes for the half. Christie finished the half 1-for-2 from three-point range and 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, but he also added two assist and two rebounds. Speaking of assists, check out the feed to Marcus Bingham in this one:

Michigan State also notched four blocks on the half, one by Bingham, one by AJ Hoggard of all players, another by Mady Sissoko, and the gem below by Julius Marble.

The second half also featured a number of big blocks, including one from Christie:

Michigan State easily ran away with the game after halftime, though. The Spartans held WMU to just 21 points, though still gave up 13 turnovers that provided the Broncos with six points. Western Michigan shot an abysmal 25.8 percent from the field for the half, however, and lost the rebound battle in the game 28-58 to the Spartans. MSU also managed 13 points off Western’s 10 turnovers in the second half.

Gabe Brown finished the game as the leading scorer for Michigan State, notching 17 points, while Joey Hauser and Bingham both finished the game second in scoring with 12 apiece. Hauser managed a double-double against WMU for the second-straight season, finishing with a team high 12 boards. Hoggard led the team in assists with seven, while Tyson Walker added five. Walker and Jaden Akins both finished with nine points apiece, while Hauser and Bingham led the team in steals with two each. Bingham and Marble led the team in blocks with two apiece.

Michigan State moves to 1-1 on the season and returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 17 in Indianapolis to take on the Butler Bulldogs in Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The game will tip off at 7:00 p.m. EST on FS1.

Also, a hearty congrats to Joshua Langford joining the Big Ten Network staff as an analyst! Hands down one of the network’s best hires!